A Sangheili Pirate in the UNSC Navy
by CII
Summary: Telek is offered a proposal from the UNSC, a position as Captain. His acceptance may mean he will have to give away all Covenant secrets to the UNSC, including the location of Halo, something he does not want to do. Complete R&R, please.
1. Meeting of Old Friends

_**508 Hours, August 7, 2547 (Military Calendar)\Deep Space**_

_He glanced around, feeling a chill blow across his back. He heard the noise of hydraulics and several enormous feet walk across the darken street. He was on a planet, a human world—ruined by Covenant forces. The city was dark. Support beams of buildings fell over onto the broken up pavement as loose, live wires wiggled about like snakes being strangled. Sparks flared up and danced across the wet street and steam rose up from the sidewalk. Aside from the movement of some sort of unseen, mechanical monster, it was quiet. Telek breathed heavily, keeping his guard up. In his hand were a plasma pistol and his other hand rested upon the emitter of his plasma sword—ready to draw it at any sudden movement. He heard the yaw of a cat in a dark alley and water drip down from a hanging pipe above him. Then, he heard something move in the rubble of mortar and metal shards. Something pushed through the rubble and a hand rose up. Telek ignited his sword, providing some illumination for him as he raised his rifle up to whomever or whatever that crawled out of that pile. He blinked bewilderedly as he watched a pale-skinned, blonde-haired, thin looking, human girl crawl out of the rubble. He could see her exhaustion even from where he stood and saw the wounds on her face and arms. She saw him and a flash of fear appeared in her eyes. The child whimpered and leapt down from the rubble, dashing off as quickly as she could down the dark alley._

"_Wait!" Telek cried. "Wait! You're hurt! I'm not gonna harm you!"_

_He bolted down the alley after her, putting away both his sword and his rifle. He got out a plasma flare instead to help light the way. The city itself seemed so dark, even for his eyesight. Telek's powerful legs carried him far and he swiftly caught up with the child._

"_Wait!" he cried again. "Little girl! Let me help you!"_

_Then, he heard it come stomping dangerously down the lane before them. The girl froze in terror, her mouth open, but she was unable to scream. Telek glanced up, wide-eyed as he saw the foot of the Scarab slam down deathly close to the child. He leapt out and grabbed her, snatching her away just before another foot came down again—saving her from being squashed by the mechanical automaton. He crouched down over her, holding her close as the Scarab slowly lumbered impassively by them. As soon as the Scarab was gone, the girl struggled loose from Telek's grip and ran from him once more._

"_Wait a minute!" Telek called again. "You're hurt! I can help."_

_He got back up and rushed off to follow her back down the dark alley from whence they both came. Then, he heard her scream and his legs picked up their pace. As soon as he cleared the alley he found her dangling by the throat kicking and screaming in the large hands of Tartarus, Chieftain of the Jiralhanae. In his other hand was the Fist of Rutk. Tartarus turned to Telek and chuckled._

"_Tartarus!" Telek cried. "Let her go, now!"_

"_No," Tartarus replied gruffly. He squeezed his hand tighter and Telek heard the neck of the girl snap. The hairy 'brute' tossed the child aside and stood in his fighting stance._

"_What have you done?" Telek asked. "A child, an innocent child! I'll make you pay for that!"_

_He ignited his sword and kicked off, bounding towards the Jiralhanae. Just as he was about to strike, a blue flash cut across his vision. He felt something wet spill itself down his chest and he fell to the ground. He glanced down and noticed that his body was sliced in half. Telek's eyes roved up and saw another Sangheili standing before him dressed in gold and copper armor with a purple cloak draped across his shoulders._

"_Otto…" he breathed just as darkness closed in on him._

_Otto…_

"Otto!" Telek bellowed as he was suddenly jerked back from his nightmare. He gasped and rose himself off his bed. Coming to a sitting position, he leaned over and held his head in his hands, shaking it in dismay. He had that dream again, that same dream over and over for the past month. There was the child, there was Tartarus, and then there was Otto, and Telek could do nothing to save the child from being killed. Telek reached down under his bed and pulled out a bottle of rum. Holding it up, he sighed in disappointment, staring at its emptiness.

"Why is the rum always gone?" he asked in misery and idly tossed the bottle aside. Telek's head jerked up when he heard a chiming sound coming from his quarter's door.

"Excellency?" called the muffled voice of Shri 'Canthonee from behind the door. "They're here, Excellency. Tekn wanted me to inform you."

"Thank you, Shri," Telek grunted as he sluggishly rose up off his bed. He wobbled with heavy drunken hooves towards his closet door and pulled out his red bathrobe. Placing it on, he tied the not and reached for his helmet to put on his head. Then, Telek dragged his hooves over to the door and opened it up. And there was Shri with arms crossed, staring at him in scrutiny.

"You're not gonna meet up with them dressed like that, are you?" she asked.

"Why not?" Telek protested. "It's my ship."

"My gods…" she huffed. "What kind of impression do we want to put on them with you dressed in your bedclothes and bathrobe?"

"Where's my Irish Coffee?" Telek asked, completely ignoring her question.

"Here, you lazy-assed bastard," Shri snorted, shoving the mug to him.

Telek took a sip of it and then promptly spat it out: "This doesn't have whiskey in it!"

"You're not going in there hammered," Shri said. "You're gonna be sober and properly dressed. Now get in there and get your armor on! Now, drink that coffee. It's obvious you're having a hang-over."

Telek growled again and sipped his coffee, returning to his room to get fully dressed. As soon as he came out, he and Shri walked down to the bridge. Shri waited outside as the doors closed and Telek stepped onto the elevated platform of the ship's main control room. Standing in the center of the semi-circle of holographic screens was Tekn 'Morudee. Telek sipped his coffee again, rubbing his eyes sleepily and turned to face the main view screen on the far wall before him. He saw a familiar face, a human with black, tightly curled hair and dark, chocolate-colored skin. The humans termed this coloration to be a part of a particular race in their species called Africans or Blacks. The human pigmentation was similar to Telek's own pebbly skin.

"Captain Donald Reynolds," Telek said, clearing his voice. "Nice to see you again. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Ship Master Telek 'Herosee," Don grinned back. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Me?" he asked. "Nah. Just resting up for my shift. It's hard being a working man. So, you called us some time ago, wanting to set up this meeting. It's taken about a year for something like this to happen."

"We had to watch you and see if we could fully trust you, Telek," said Don. "I mean, we're talking about one of our planets here. I just can't lead a ship like yours there on a whim. I had to make sure—the UNSC had to make sure that it could trust you."

"Can you?" Telek asked.

"I think we can," he replied. "But first, we need to scourer your ship to make sure no Covenant tracking devices are on it."

"We checked all four ships ourselves," Telek said. "No tracking devices. The day we defected and started running from the Covenant, we had no choice but to get rid of all of them. I don't want anyone following us."

"Yes, but you still deal very closely with the Covenant," said Don. "Especially with your pirating. And it'll make me feel comfortable."

"What's this all about, Don?" Telek asked.

Don leaned back in his chair and chuckled: "I'll tell you when I come aboard. I'm bringing my away team over to do the search on your ship—as well as the other three ships. I've already spoken to the other Ship Masters and they've allowed my men on board."

"Are they searching now?"

"Yes," Don replied. "So far, they've come up with nothing. Cujo, Tulsa, and Mitsu are being very cooperative."

"Cooperative…" Telek sighed. "They—know what's necessary. I still like to know what's going on. Can't you bring the Admiral out here to meet me?"

"No," he replied. "Mostly because of _whom _you'd be meeting when we get there as well."

"And who is that?" Telek asked.

"That's the surprise," Don grinned back.

"Donald," Telek began, raising a finger at him. "I'll let you know right now that I hate surprises."

"Well, get over it, you crazy pirate," Don said.

Telek chuckled: "Alright, come aboard. I'll be waiting in the cargo hold when you get here. We'll have breakfast."

"Lunch for me, Telek," said Don.

"Brunch it is then!" Telek said. "See you when you get over here."

"Sure thing," Don said as his image disappeared. Telek turned back to Tekn and crossed his arms.

"Make sure the chef knows we're having guests," he said. "They like human food, so feed them that."

"Yes, Excellency," Tekn nodded. "But, what is this all about?"

"I don't know," he replied. "But whatever it is, we'll have to make them comfortable while they're doing it. Get my technicians out there and ready to assist the team in the inspection."

"Yes, Excellency," Tekn said.

Telek headed for the door and walked out. Shri caught up with him and both of them walked down towards the cargo hold of the massive assault carrier the _Shade of Darkness._ As soon as they were in the cargo hold, Telek turned towards several of his own technicians and some armed guards who stood off in the wings, waiting for the transport to arrive carrying their new human allies. Telek glanced up as he saw a Pelican approach the opening of the cargo hold.

"Turn off primary shielding," Telek said to the operator near him.

There were two shielding emitters for the cargo holds in the carrier. One was to keep oxygen in, and the other was to protect the ship from being boarded. The Pelican slowly entered just as the main shielding came down and landed near a Spirit drop ship. Telek watched as the back end of the human air craft opened up and several naval personnel as well as Marines walked out. Then, Telek saw Donald step out from the Pelican. The big Sangheili slowly approached the human and held out his gloved hand.

"Captain Reynolds," Telek began. "Welcome aboard the _Shade of Darkness_."

Don took Telek's hand and shook it: "Thank you, Ship Master. I must say this is the first time I have ever been on board a Covenant ship. You guys have a lot of purple lights."

Telek chuckled: "We like to accessorize. Shri!"

"Yes, Excellency," Shri said.

"Take these men along with our technician for the inspection," he said.

"Yes, Excellency," she said. "Please, follow me."

Telek watched as Shri led the human and Sangheili technicians away, then he turned back to Don.

"Well, follow me, I'll show you to the VIP dining hall," he said.

"Sure thing," Don smiled as he followed Telek.

"So, tell me, what's this all about?" Telek asked. "I hate to be kept in suspense."

"I'll tell you when we get to the dining hall," said Don. "But I'll tell you this, we couldn't have chosen a better guy for the job."

"Job?" the Sangheili asked. "You guys want me to do a job for you? I thought I've been doing jobs for the UNSC since I defected."

"This is a lot more than your pirating, Telek," said Don. "We appreciate what you've done for us, but now we want to bring you in a little further on our side of the war."

"Hijacking ships and stealing technology isn't enough?" Telek asked.

"Not if we don't exactly understand the technology."

"I've given you instruction manuals," he said.

"And that's fine and all," said Don as Telek opened up the door to the dining hall. "And we really appreciate that. But now, the UNSC—really needs you is to have you on full time to show us how to use the technology and share with us Covenant battle tactics."

"Full time?" Telek asked. "And who wanted this?"

"President Knight himself," said Don. "He's been reading the reports I've made about you and he's extremely interested in you. I mean—extremely. Which is why he's made this proposal to you."

Telek and Don sat down just as two Sangheili brought out a serving plate filled with pretzels.

"Uh, Telek, what's this?" Don asked.

"Pretzels," he replied. "Why? Don't you guys eat pretzels?"

"Yeah," Don replied. "We do, but not for brunch."

"Sorry," Telek said as he took a bite. "It's the only human food we have. Bring out the drinks!"

Another Sangheili came in with a bottle of sherry and began to pour for them. As soon as he was done, he turned and left the bottle.

"Pretzels and sherry," said Don. "You have an odd taste for food, Telek."

"Actually, the food we eat—by human standards," Telek began. "Tastes like crap so I've been told."

"Those two marines you had on your ship once," Don said. "I remember. Yeah, they told me about the food nipple."

"Didn't like the food nipple," said Telek. "So, I'll have to make due with this for you. It's what I've been trading for when I bring in stolen goods."

"There's other food out there besides pretzels and alcohol," said Don.

"They don't want to trade the best stuff to me," said Telek. "And I'm happy with the pretzels. And the alcohol."

"I hear you're quite a drinker," Don said.

"Yup," he nodded. "I am. I can out drink any of you humans and most of my Sangheili crew."

"I'll take your word for it," said Don.

"Okay, Don, what's the story?" Telek asked. "This President Knight of yours, what does he want with me and my happy little band of pirates?"

"What would you say that President Knight has offered you a position in the UNSC?"

Telek took a bite of another pretzel and paused for a moment to think about his answer. Then he cleared his throat and took a drink of his sherry: "I'd say what position? And what narcotic has he been on?"

Don chuckled: "President Knight wants you to come with us to Reach to be commissioned into the United Nations Space Navy."

"What kind of commission?" Telek asked.

"Captain of course," said Don.

Telek leaned back in his chair: "You do realize that I was the equivalent of a Rear Admiral in the Covenant Armada before I defected. Taking the rank of Captain would be a step down for me."

"I know," said Don. "But you'll have some extra points added to the commission which will allow you to hit Rear Admiral a lot sooner than most who become Captain. The deeds you do will then allow you to earn your two stars."

"I'm guessing I'll be paid for this," said Telek.

"Yes," said Don. "And you'll receive supplies, ammunition, and technical support from the UNSC."

"Not for my ships," Telek said. "You don't have the technology to repair them."

"With your help we soon will," said Don. "Right now, I don't know the specific detailing on what the President wants, but when we arrive in Reach, we'll know more on it."

"Will President Knight be there?" Telek asked.

"Unfortunately," began Don. "Given the circumstances of the war, we don't want to risk loosing our most important leader. So, he'll be joining us through the telecast."

"I can't wait to meet him," Telek said. "And this Vice-Admiral Witcom I've been hearing so much about."

"Trust me," began Don. "They will be interested in meeting you as well. This will be the first time that any of our leaders have met an alien in peace rather than in war."

"Again," began Telek. "I wish something like that had never happened. What we did to your people, it was cruel. Once more I have to state that I don't know why the Covenant wanted to put you on the extinction list."

"I know," said Don. "I guess only those Prophets and the Elite High Council know for sure why."

"No," said Telek. "The Sangheili High Council doesn't even know either. I'm sure of it. But the Prophets do. And that's what they're hiding."

"Again, something to tell Witcom and Knight when you meet them," said Don.

Telek's head turned when he saw one of Don's men as well as a Sangheili technician step into the room.

"What's the status on the inspection, Master Chief Nelson?" Don asked.

The Master Chief Petty Officer saluted and brought out his report: "So far, so good, sir. No bugs, no tracking devices. But this is a big ship to comb through. We're sweeping all decks."

"Told you," said Telek. "I don't want the Covenant to follow me. I have too much to loose if they catch me and my small battle group."

"Are you sure, Chief?" Don asked.

"Sure," he said. "I can't find anything that would be a tracking device that could lead the Covenant to Reach."

"We scoured the ship, Excellency," said the Sangheili technician. He was dressed in Major Domo red armor. "Stem to stern. No devices. We've got our rangers outside as well to look for devices that could have been attached to the ship during our last hijacking. So far, nothing came up."

"Good," said Telek. "Does this satisfy you, Donny?"

"It does," said Don. "Thank you, Chief."

"Dismissed," said Telek. He received a salute from both crewmen. "Well, Don. Shall I escort you back to your ship and we make the job now?"

"Your ship is faster than ours, right?" Don asked.

"Very much so," Telek replied.

"If we jump," Don began. "Your ship will arrive at Reach before mine. They'll open up and fire upon you once you get there."

"Okay, that's bad," Telek said. "What do propose?"

"Can you—let's say—tie my ship to yours and pull it?" Don asked.

"You mean use the tractor beam and tow you through slip-space behind my ship?" Telek asked.

"Yeah," Don replied.

"It's never been done," Telek said. "I don't know what might happen. But there is one way. Part of my ship can open up and attach itself onto a smaller ship. Only happens when there's a smaller ship that's damaged. I can do it that way."

"Perfect," said Don. The two rose from their seats and took one last swig from their glasses. Telek showed the Captain out, leading him back to the cargo hold. Meanwhile, Shri was returning again, leading the crew of the _Memphis _as well as the _Shade's _technicians back to the Pelican for transport. She watched as the humans boarded the craft. Then, she turned back to Telek who was shaking Don's hand.

"Finally meeting each other face to face," said Telek. "It was well worth it."

Don pulled out a pad and handed it over to Telek: "These are the coordinates to Reach. Give them to the other ships as well. And remember, follow the Cole Protocol while we're traveling."

Telek inspected the coordinates and smiled back: "This would be a two week jump for my ships."

"More like over a month for mine," said Don. "Your ship is faster. As commissioned, you will receive fuel for your ship. We have begun to create the plasma that is needed to run a ship like yours."

"And this is all free more or less with the commission?" Telek asked.

"Every last bit of it," he said. "The catching being shared knowledge of Covenant tactics and technology."

"Easy catch," Telek said. "I so have been wanting to ram a rod up Truth's ass. Now, it's gonna be a rod marked UNSC. I shall enjoy this."

Don chuckled and returned to the Pelican. Telek and Shri watched as the Pelican backed out of the cargo hold and returned to its ship. Then, Telek turned to Shri, his grin belied his own musings.

"What is it?" Shri asked. "What did he say?"

"How does Captain Telek 'Herosee sound?" Telek asked.

"Captain?" Shri asked. "What…"

"The President of the UNSC has offered me a Captain's commission," Telek said.

"You mean—join the UNSC?" Shri asked. "You? What about us?"

"I suppose that I'll still be the head of this ship," he said. "But things will be a bit different. We're going to Reach to see what is in store for me if I agree to this 'draft'."

"They want to make you an officer in the United Nations Space Command?" Shri asked. "You—a Sangheili? An alien by their standards?"

"They're desperate," said Telek.

"Must be," she shrugged. "Okay…so they want to commission you. Then what?"

"We do what they say," said Telek. "That is if I agree."

"I don't like this," said Shri. "I really don't."

"Shri, for once I'll be fighting on the right side for once," said Telek.

"And what about Halo?" Shri asked. "Should you give them the knowledge of that?"

"No," Telek said. "Not Halo…"

"You can't trust them with Halo," said Shri. "I knew it."

"It'll be the one thing I'll hide from them," said Telek. "Unless—it's necessary for me to tell them about Halo."

"And when, pray tell, will that be?"

"We'll burn that bridge when we get there, Shri," he replied. "Now, I need to go feed these coordinates into the navigational system. Get your Sangheili ready for slip-space jump."

"Aye, Excellency," Shri saluted.


	2. The President of the UNSC

_**1230 Hours, August 30, 2547 (Military Calendar)\Earth**_

"Mr. President!" cried Henry Ferguson. "Mr. President!"

Henry chased the United Nations President down the entire day. He was trying to find President Knight at his usual spots, but the leader was not there. Finally, he found the UN President walking back to the UN Building. The President of the United Nations and Commander and Chief of the United Nations Space Command was none other than Kiryuu Mechagodzilla Knight. Kiryuu paused in his tracks and turned slightly to face his assistant, his green, metallic, biomechanical mane of dreadlocks wiggling slightly about his shoulders. Five hundred years had gone by, five hundred long years of working his way through biased human beliefs towards what he was, and even bigotry against 'his kind'—as in machines and artificial intelligences and Kiryuu fought his way up to the highest position in the land. Almost 500 years ago, he befriended a Western Dragon named Dunkelzahn and became his running mate for the presidency of the United Canadian-American States. Dunkelzahn won and became president in 2057, only to be assassinated the night of his inauguration. Kiryuu, being his vice-president, took up the seat and brought the UCAS out of the gutter. Two full terms Kiryuu served and those two terms were the foundation of what he could achieve for the greater good of humanity. Just because he was a machine did not mean one bit that he was heartless. Just because he had a hydraulic pump for a heart did not mean that he did not feel emotions for humans, sympathy for the weak and pride for the strong. Though he lost the only bit of humanity he had—the bonded link with Dr. Katsura Yugami, his own soul came in and gave him a revival of human morality. Though he was a biomechanical, reanimated mutant gojirasaurus, he knew what it meant to be human.

Though at the beginnings the UN was lead by the Secretary-General, as soon as a unified arm-forces began to take militant charge over the warring belligerent colony planets, a president and commander and chief of the forces was needed to oversee all policies of military power over the colonies and to keep the peace in Earth's growing empire. Coined sometimes as President of Earth, the United Nations Space Command Commander and Chief delegated over the presiding senate and congress when in wartime and would often make more military sovereign decisions when war was fought. Though the Covenant had struck first, it was the President of the UN Council who wrote up the declaration of war upon the Covenant to secure Earth colonies against the growing menace. Much like the President of the United Canadian-American States, the President of the UN is only allowed to serve two terms, though vetoing of terms by disagreeing countries can keep a president from serving twice.

Unlike the AIs that exist today, Kiryuu had the capacity to become rampant and not think himself to death. Most AIs that were created through positronic copies of human synapses die after being active for 7 years. Kiryuu's own AI had been active since the late 20th Century and began to show his rampancy and sentiency around the very early years of the 21st Century. No matter how hard mankind tried, they could never pull another 'Kiryuu' out of their hat. He remained one of a kind to this day. He was a citizen of Earth, the only mechanical citizen of Earth and the only guts to run for President of the UN as a machine. He after all, had a reputation. Before even taking on the presidency, he was the CEO of the Utah Foundation of Bio-Organic Research. And being the head of cybernetic research the UN called upon his company to help in the SPARTAN program. The difference though between the biosyntech he had in his body and the biosyntech used for the SPARTAN program was Technomancy. Since Technomancy was now forbidden to use, Kiryuu and his team of scientists developed a new type of syntech. Luckily syntech could be created without the aid of Technomantic crystals because living tissue was used not dead tissue. Kiryuu knew that in order to create something like him—Technomancy would be needed to revive the dead cells for creation of syntech. Therefore the SPARTANs created were only termed cyborgs not cyberzombies—which is what Kiryuu happens to be. Though Technomancy was forbidden as well as regular magic being forbidden, Kiryuu was allowed to use some to shrink himself down in order to fit into buildings. Which is why right now he only stood 8 feet tall and not us usual 200 feet tall.

Kiryuu Knight was dressed in a royal blue polo shirt with black triangular stripes running down along the shoulders and the sleeves and also down the trunk of the shirt. On his left breast was 'UNSC' written in white block letters. His slacks on the other hand were the exact opposite, black with blue triangular stripes along the outer seams running down the legs. Sunlight glistened off the silvery plates on his arms and the armored plates running down his tail, which wagged softly above the pavement. His tail never dragged. On his gray, draconic snout, were a pair of dark green sunglasses—which had in one of the lenses a plasma screen that scrolled information down for Kiryuu to read. Henry stopped right before the human-sized, cybernetic dinosaur, gasping for air.

"I've—been look all over for you, Mr. Knight," he breathed.

"You're 5 minutes and 12 seconds late, Henry," Kiryuu remarked coldly, eyeing the Scot with his burning gold eyes. "I'm disappointed."

"Aye, sir," Henry said. "Sorry about that."

"It's good that you wish to join me in the meeting," Kiryuu said as he started to walking again. Henry stumbled after him, minding not to get too close to be whacked by the dinosaur's tail. He always walked one step behind Kiryuu Knight.

"I know, Mr. Knight," he began. "But about this meeting with this…Telek 'Herosee. Sir! I do have to express my concern for this. I mean, commissioning a Covenant defector into the UNSC. Congress thinks you've blown a circuit or something."

"My processors are working at 100 efficiency, Henry," Kiryuu informed. "Why would they question it? He is perfect for the job. We could learn much, save lives by knowing Covenant tactics, weapons, ship designs. Why what he has given us now has been very beneficial. His pirating—stealing technology and secrets then handing them over to us has helped us. I call it a blessing, not a curse."

"But have you read the history on this alien?" Henry asked. "According to our sources he was a Fleet Master—a Rear Admiral—if you will in one of the largest fleets in the Covenant Armada. The fleet _Particular Justice_. They were responsible for over half the glassing of the Outer Planets! He's a war criminal! He should be hanged for his crimes, not put on the payroll."

"Duties that he has done while under orders from his superiors," Kiryuu noted. "Our soldiers are no different, Henry. They follow orders from their superiors just as Telek has done. If they are ordered to kill babies—though horrible that may sound—they do it. He's military! If a superior asks a subordinate to jump off a cliff, that soldier might do it. And I have gathered from the reports that time and time again Telek disagreed with his orders. Then, the disagreements worsened to the point where Telek became insubordinate and belligerent to his superiors—to the point where they tried him for treason and almost executed him. I want this Elite on the payroll."

"Sir, please," began Henry. "He's an alien, a strange being. What makes you think that he will fit in? His kind have been our enemies since the war started. And they started it not us."

Kiryuu paused in his steps and turned around. Henry quickly jumped over the President's tail just as it swung around when Kiryuu turned to face him. Though the man had some points, Kiryuu could not help but to notice the tone in Henry's voice. Then, he chuckled in sad realization.

"Come now, it seems to be you're a bit of a bigot, Mr. Ferguson," the bio-mechanical dinosaur pointed out as a dark smile grew across his scaly lips.

"Me?" Henry asked, shocked by the fact that Kiryuu Knight would call him such a title. "Heaven's no! I'm no bigot. How did you come to such a conclusion?"

"Here, we have an opportunity to learn more about the Covenant from someone that used to be a part of it," he began. "We finally have our window of opportunity and you're slandering it left and right. Henry, we're struggling against this war. The Covenant is just too powerful, but with Telek's help, I think we can finally even the odds. Too many planets have fallen. Too many lives."

"But he's an alien…not human…"

Kiryuu sighed: "Henry, what am I?"

"W—what are you?" Henry asked. "You are the President of the United Nations."

"True," Kiryuu nodded. "But what _am_ I?"

"A—really good tennis player?" Henry asked. Kiryuu took off his glasses and gave his assistance a chilly glance. "A wonderful tennis player!"

"Henry…"

"Good business man?" Henry asked.

"That's what Lofwyr calls me," Kiryuu said. "No, what _am_ I?"

"A hundred and 30 million years old, reanimated, radioactive-mutated, cybernetic dinosaur," Henry replied in defeat. "Gojira."

"Yes, and yet here is Gojira now the President of the UN," Kiryuu said. "I'm not human either."

"I—didn't mean that," Henry protested. "I meant he's an alien. You're not an alien."

"I certainly look very alien," said Kiryuu.

"Yes, you were born on this planet…"

"How does that make a difference?" Kiryuu asked. "Why shouldn't I allow Telek in?"

"He—was a part of the enemy," said Henry.

"That's the key word, isn't it?" he asked. "He _was_. He's not now."

"But he could betray," Henry said. "Never trust a traitor."

"Never allow a computer to get so smart that it could potentially take over the planet either," Kiryuu said, again chuckling darkly at the human. "And yet here I am."

"But with the kind of knowledge that Telek has," began Henry. "He'd have to be a part of the Office of Naval Intelligence. He'll have high level clearance."

"I know," Kiryuu nodded as he started walking towards the building. He paused for a moment just as the automatic glass doors opened up for him.

"You're giving him ONI clearance?" Henry asked as he followed the President inside.

"Yes," replied Kiryuu. He heard the receptionist greet him from behind her desk. He nodded and gave her a slight wave. Other personnel as well as members of the UN Senate and Congress also politely greeted Kiryuu as he walked towards the elevator with Henry trotting behind him.

"But—with that high level of security clearance," Henry began as the two entered the elevator. "Telek 'Herosee will know all our secrets."

"Yes, and we'll know his," Kiryuu pointed out as the door closed. The cyborg pressed a button for his floor, which was on the very top level of the building. He swiped his security card and the elevator lifted up.

"But, Mr. President!" Henry continued his protest. "Again I must express my opinions on this…"

"Henry," Kiryuu interrupted. "I have a set of rules for you to follow. While under my employ, you must understand that while I respect your views and your opinions—and you are more than graciously allowed to have them because it shows that you're one step above the animal that you evolved from—however you must understand that my decisions on these things is to help the whole of the UN, Earth and its colonies. But one thing you must take to heart that if I want your opinion I'll ask for it. Is that clear?"

"Y—yes, sir," Henry sighed.

"Excellent," Kiryuu said. "Now, I've been told they are setting up the holographic projector on Reach. So, I'll be able to at least be there—somewhat to meet Telek in person. Oh, I wish I could be there in physical body."

"But under the circumstances," began Henry. "We can't risk it. A Covenant ship might come out of slip-space, fire on the ship that's carrying you and we'll have to find ourselves another president."

"Indeed," Kiryuu agreed as the elevator slowed to a stop on his floor. As the doors opened up, Kiryuu and Henry slowly walked out onto the black, shiny floor that was the office of the President of the United Nations. This was Kiryuu's office. Behind the oak desk was the flag of the UN and a secondary flag, the flag of the United Canadian-American States—which was Kiryuu's home country. A smaller flag sat in a pen holder. It was the flag of the state of Utah, which Kiryuu was from. Nearly a hundred years after the NAN was created, the Ute Nation during the second crash of the Matrix was re-absorbed into the United Canadian-American States. After that, the Ute Nation returned to being called Utah and reestablished Salt Lake City as its capital, which is the home town of the Utah Foundation of Bio-Organic Research. Because Kiryuu was from North America, the UN Building in New York became his home for his operations. Unlike being the President of the UCAS back in 2057, Kiryuu did not have a capital city as his home. He traveled back and forth from the UN building in North America to the UN building in Europe, keeping estates there as his homes away from home. But his true home will always be Salt Lake City. Kiryuu went behind his desk and promptly sat down, kicking off his shoes and sticking his metallic feet up on the desk. The back of his chair was specifically designed for his tail, having a hole for it so that he could slide it through.

"I suppose you'll go through with this no matter what I say, Mr. Knight," Henry sighed.

"That is my plan," Kiryuu replied.

"Very well, sir," the Scot sighed again. "If you have need of me, I'll be down the hall."

Kiryuu gave a wave of dismissal to his assistant and watched him walk out through another door. He settled back and waved a claw over a panel in his wooden desk. Behind him, an indention in the floor rose up and his green dreads extended down, linking themselves to ports inside the indention. Kiryuu closed his eyes and began to dial up Reach, his CPU diving into the many network of nexus' within the interstellar communication system. He had full clearances to ONI, and he used that server to get through to Reach. It was the fastest of all the military servers. Despite Reach's distant position from Earth, Kiryuu could make it there in good time through his systems, unlike how it used to be. When he was nothing more thought of than a computer, Kiryuu would take hours in hacking into military grids in order to discover secrets and potentially blackmail countries into submission to keep his own secrets—now as the President, there were no obstacles that stood in his way. Kiryuu's eyes opened and a smile crawled up his lips when he finally reached the desk of Vice-Admiral Vince Witcom.

"President Kiryuu Knight!" Vince called, his weathered, tanned face appearing on the holographic trideo screens above Kiryuu's desk. "I didn't expect you to call so soon."

"Admiral!" Kiryuu began. "How's our guest of honor? Has he arrived yet?"

"Not yet, sir," said the Vice-Admiral. "But given their present speed, I'd give them 10 more minutes. They ran into some trouble on the way and had to blind-jump it all the way here. And Telek's carrying the _Memphis _attached to his ship. Captain Reynolds has been complaining about the bumpy ride from the backseat all the way, so I've heard."

"He's tough," Kiryuu said. "He can take it. How's that program going?"

"Moving swiftly," said Witcom. "The SPARTANs are progressing nicely. Thanks of course to some of the new upgrades from the friendly Foundation."

"We aim to please," said Kiryuu. "Of course, I'm going against the laws here by giving syntech for augmentation purposes. But that's often looked over given present circumstances."

"Given the circumstances, we wouldn't have made it this far without your help," said Vince.

"Very little progress, Admiral," Kiryuu said. "I'm not satisfied. But that will change."

The Vice-Admiral glanced away when he heard his assistant speak to him. Then, he glanced back and his smile brightened.

"Our guest of honor is here," he said. "A bit earlier than I expected. Covenant engines are fast."

"We're still trying to retrofit some of the engines that he has given us onto our ships," said Kiryuu. "Mind you, it's a bit difficult so I've heard. It's like having a computer that speaks Greek talk to another computer that speaks Russian. With Telek's help, though, it should get a bit easier. I just hope it's enough."

"It will be," said Witcom. "I just hope your faith in someone you've never even met is well placed."

"Think of this as an interview," said Kiryuu. "If I feel he's not qualified during the interview, I won't hire him."

"A business man to the end," Witcom chuckled.

"Something Lofwyr always says to me," Kiryuu nodded. "Set up the holographic projectors. If I can't shake his hand physically, I'll shake it through my avatar."

"Yes, sir," Witcom nodded. "You heard him."

Kiryuu settled back again, his mind began to reflect on his decisions. Though he was met by opposing arguments on his decision to grant this alien the commission in the UNSC, the overweighing argument that they could easily gain secrets that agents of ONI and many sailors and marines had fought and died for. It was a desperate move, but the UNSC was getting desperate now. All that was left of Earth's colonies were a few of the Inner Planets. All of the Outer Planet Colonies had been utterly destroyed. Yes, they were getting desperate. It was a hard decision for Kiryuu to make, but he had no other alternative. He just hoped he had made the right one.


	3. Reach for the Decision

_**2034 Hours, August 30, 2547 (Military Calendar)\Reach**_

The _Shade of Darkness _followed by the _Righteous Fury, _the _Devine Journey_, and the _Holy Justice _finally broke out of slip-space over the shipyard world known as Reach. Telek stood silently as the view of Reach came onto his screen.

"You can disengage my ship," began a voice over the speakers.

"Right, Don," Telek said. "Disengaging locks."

He pressed several buttons on the holo-screen and heard the sounds of the struts unlocking from the smaller ship below him. He peered down just as he saw the _Memphis _break away from his ship, and pulling up into formation alongside the other 'Covenant' ships that escorted Telek's ship.

"Welcome to Reach, Telek," said Don.

"It's beautiful," Telek commented. "This is the shipyard, isn't it? This is where all of the ships are made for Earth?"

"Yes," said Don. "If we loose this world—that's it. No more ships."

"Then, I've got my work cut out for me," Telek added solemnly.

"In coming message, Excellency," began Tekn.

"On screen."

"Ship Master Telek 'Herosee?" began a voice as a weathered face appeared on the screen. "I'm Vice-Admiral Vince Witcom. Welcome to Reach."

"Thank you, Vice-Admiral," Telek replied. "I'm hoping that I'm not causing any—trouble for the ships who just saw me break out of slip-space."

"We knew you were coming," he said.

"That's good," Telek added. "If you didn't, I'd probably be dead by now."

"_Shade of Darkness_," began a Longsword squadron leader with a Southern Accent. "Turn to vector 3580 and prepare for docking procedures at landing zone _David-Alpha._"

"Roger," Telek said. "You heard the man."

"Entering coordinates now," said Tekn.

"I'll see you when you land, Telek," said Vince.

"Thank you, sir," Telek nodded just as the image faded. He turned back to Tekn. "Well, here we are."

"Yes, here we are," said Tekn. "But—what do we do?"

"Make the most of it," Telek replied. "Trust me on this one, it's worth it. I'll finally have the means to ram something hard up Truth's ass."

"Is that all you think about, Excellency?" Tekn asked.

Telek sighed and glanced away, taking out his tin of vodka and took a sip of it. It had been all that he was willing to think about. Ever since the day he discovered the truth about the Halos, the lies about what the Covenant really was about and the ideas that the Prophets were withholding information that could spell out doom for his own species, he could not think of anything else. This was important to him. Telek's mind slipped for a moment back to the dream he had of that girl and Tartarus and his old commander Otto 'Gamamee. He could not save the girl, Tartarus killed her, and then Otto killed Telek—and there was nothing else. He could not understand why he kept having that dream. It disturbed him night after night. Not even the sweet numbness of alcohol could rid his mind from that strange dream. Telek felt locked in some sort of delusion that he was going to fail and that all of the universe was going to be destroyed. Though joining the UNSC was partially about his own guilt for having a hand in destroying a species that came to no harm to the Covenant, the rest was for stopping Truth and his schemes.

The ship slowly descended down into the atmosphere of Reach with the other five ships following it. As they descended, Telek saw his screens flicker and information scroll across it. It looked as if someone was trying to access information on the ship itself through an unauthorized channel in the mainframe of the ship. Telek knew a computer hacker when he saw one.

"Tekn, did you see that?" he asked.

"The screens flickered…" said Tekn.

"Someone's trying to hack into our ship," said Telek.

"From Reach?"

"No, this is coming from somewhere else," Telek replied. "It's being masked though. Looks like he's having trouble hacking through because my ship's computer isn't something human built. But—I'm amazed he managed to get this far into the system. Say nothing about this to Witcom."

"Yes, Excellency," nodded Tekn.

The _Memphis _hung in a low orbit while the _Shade of Darkness _lowered its gravitational lift platform to anchor itself to the ground. The other three Covenant Separatist ships followed, descending their anchors down as well to attach themselves to the concrete below. Telek, Tekn, and Shri rode the _Shade's _lift down to the ground as the Ship Masters of the other three ships—Cujo, Tulsa, and Mitsu came down from their ships. As soon as they were down, Telek spotted Vice-Admiral Witcom standing along side other officers. He was dressed in his white dress uniform and gloves. Three stars shined upon his golden shoulder boards and a braid of gold draped over his shoulder. Telek's own golden armor shined brilliantly in the sun.

"Telek 'Herosee," said Witcom as he held out his hand to the Sangheili.

"Vince Witcom," Telek returned the handshake.

The Vice-Admiral glanced over and saw the white Jolly Roger painted on the shoulder plate. He noticed that the other Elites also had the same symbol on their armor as well.

"The Jolly Roger," he said. "I shall make a note of it that any Covenant ship we see that bears that symbol shall not be attacked. Lord Hood made a similar statement to which the President agreed upon."

"I hear that I'll be meeting him as well," said Telek. "The President I mean."

"Mr. Knight," said Witcom. "Yes, you will."

"Vice-Admiral Witcom," Telek began. "I'd like you to meet the rest of my pirating crew." He turned behind him and motioned at the other Ship Masters. "This is Ship Master Mitsu 'Kimamee of the _Holy Justice_, this is Ship Master Tulsa 'Duroshee of the _Righteous Fury, _and my old frat brother Cujo 'Mentatalee, Ship Master of the _Divine Journey_." He turned to the others standing beside him. "This is my assistant Tekn 'Morudee and my Special Operations Commander Shri 'Canthonee."

"Ma'am," Witcom said as he tipped his hat politely to the female Sangheili. And this made her blush bright red. He turned back to Telek and the others and motioned for them to follow him. Tekn could not help but to notice Shri's coloration.

"What's wrong, you sick, Shri?" he asked.

"He called me 'ma'am'," Shri giggled. "That's so—different."

"They're culture is different, so are their manners," he said. "You find it offensive?"

"On the contrary," she replied. "I find it cute."

Tekn chuckled back and followed a few steps behind Telek. Cujo walked beside Telek, glancing over his shoulder to the number of armed guards that had gathered.

"They don't trust us," Cujo began. "They still don't trust us."

"Can you blame them?" Telek asked. "Only now have we decided to make some sort of peace with this strange species. It's quite understandable that they still show some hostility towards us. They just have to make sure we're not going to do them in."

"Maybe with this Knight's backing," began Cujo. "They'll seem less hostile to us. If their leader will trust us, then perhaps there is some hope for the others."

"It's not as simple as that," said Mitsu. "One being does not dictate the personal values of another—no matter how powerful they are."

"Not unless they hold some sort of religious sway over the group," said Tulsa. "Such as the Covenant."

"The Prophets never held sway over our views," said Telek. "Have they?"

"No, Excellency!" called Tulsa. "Of course not."

"No, religion has its own power, a dark power when used the wrong way," said Telek. "When religion and politics ride in the same cart—it's like feeding fuel to the fire. It can only get hotter and do more damage."

"The whirlwind blows when those two meet face to face," said Cujo.

"Yes," Telek agreed. "It does. But this Knight does not hold any religious sway over the people he leads. So, it will be different."

As they entered the base, Witcom paused for a moment and glanced back at Telek. He heard their discussion and knew what was about to happen next. It was time that Telek learn of the being he was about to meet.

"Telek," he began. "There's something you must know before you enter that office and meet with Mr. Knight."

"Something?" Telek asked.

"Yes, it's about President Knight," began Witcom. "About what kind of person he is."

"Okay…"

"Kiryuu Knight," began Witcom. "Is a being of great power in the UNSC. Not just because he's the president. No, he had great power before he became president. He's a dictator, for one. He has allowed the civilian population only the simplistic of basic rights. He has full control over the information coming in and out of all the various servers belonging to the Office of Naval Intelligence. You might think something like that came with the job, but not with Kiryuu. He held sway over ONI before he came to the UN. There's a term called Plausible Deniability. Sometimes what one president knows, and when he leaves, does not share with the other president because of security reasons mostly because of how it can go against the laws that were enforced at the time. Plausible Deniability does not work in Kiryuu's case. He knew information so far up in security before security was even granted to him. He knows everything, everything we do, everything we say—nothing is kept from him."

"How did he gain this information?" Telek asked.

"You're about to meet the greatest hacker Earth has every produced," Witcom replied.

_The hacker! _Telek thought. _The hacker that attacked my ship was President Knight? How could he have done that all the way from Earth? How?_ Then he spoke aloud. "And how did he become so powerful?"

"If I told you now, you wouldn't believe me," replied Witcom. "But I'll tell you this, before he came into power, though we had established a fair hold on information control through ONI—it was not as efficient as it is today."

"Information control?" Cujo asked. "What information?"

"The war of course," said Witcom. "Not just secrets we're trying to withhold from the Covenant, but secrets we're holding from the civilian populace as well."

"Why?" Shri asked.

"Because," said Telek. "They don't want the civilian populace to know they're loosing. Bad for moral. Am I right?"

"Yes," Witcom replied. "There's nothing more dangerous than scared, maddened, and enraged civilians finding out that their planet could be next in Covenant glassing. Dangerous for us. The whole colony system we had established, rules, and such—would all completely crash and total anarchy would ensue. And basically the whole Earth Empire would just collapse on itself and commit social suicide. And for Kiryuu's first term, he managed to save Earth and its colonies from just that. Of course, it then required him to take on a full dictatorship to keep control. Commerce was regulated, travel was regulated, and even the, megacorps were also regulated. The government under Kiryuu Knight has full autonomy over everything you stand on right now. When he says jump, the UNSC jumps."

"Sometime such control is necessary at times," said Telek. "But I hope it hasn't gone completely to his head."

"It's not just that," said Witcom. "You're job here was defeated by Congress several times over as well as the motion to allow Kiryuu a third term. Then, Kiryuu pulled his puppet strings on every single one of them. That's why you're here now. Not only has his strings forced Congress to vote to allow you this commission, but has also given him the option of a third term where only two are allowed."

"Third term?" Telek asked. "To do what?"

"That I don't know," Witcom replied. "His second term isn't even up. He still has nearly 2 and a half more years to go. But—somehow, he knows that staying in power will allow him to remain in complete control over the actions of everything that will happen. Apparently he wants to ride this war out to the end."

"This guy is beginning to sound like a Prophet," Cujo whispered.

"Shirking off one tyrant to go serve another," Telek sighed.

"Kiryuu Knight holds a benevolent dictatorship," said Witcom. "But yes, he is a tyrant in many ways. But the people don't mind it so long as they have their basic rights to go and live their lives. One thing Kiryuu doesn't interfere in—the basic lives of others. It's the big decisions he's concerned about. And this one is one of the biggest. And if your wondering, the people wanted it. It's because he's a notable Caesar among leaders."

"Then it is the people's choice whether he remains on," Telek said.

"Yes, it is," said Witcom. "In the end, it is. And that's what granted him the third term even before his second was over."

"Can't wait to meet this guy," Telek sighed. "What is he, some sort of wrinkly old, grouchy prune?"

Witcom chuckled: "I wouldn't say that to his face. You'll see."

He opened the door to the office and they stepped in. There was a large, suede office chair with a very high back. Telek glanced around, trying to find the screen in which he would see the image of President Knight.

"Mr. Knight," began Witcom. "I'd like you to meet Telek 'Herosee."

The chair swung around and Telek's blue eyes lit up like two headlights. Cujo froze, confused as to what he saw. Tulsa blinked with his own confusion, and Mitsu just stared with in blank expression. Tekn and Shri even gave similar looks. Telek could not really fathom what he saw. There, sitting in the chair was a being—that was not to say the least human. He looked reptilian, from what Telek could gather, with gray pebbly skin. Two golden eyes that had cat-like slits for pupils sparkled in the light of the office. A fanged grinned crawled up the wedge-like muzzle of the creature that sat in the chair, showing off many rows of dagger-like teeth. Metallic plates framed the face and tubing ran down the creature's temples into the metallic plates that adorned his neck. From what Telek could deduce, this—whatever it was—seemed mechanical in nature. A mane of green, fleshy, dreadlocks sprouted from the top of the creature's head and draped about its shoulders—wiggling like Medusa snakes. He wore a blue polo shirt with black triangular stripes on his shoulders, which covered the plated armor underneath—though the arm plates were exposed. Telek could see some sort of black rubber-like body suit that the creature wore under the, silvery, metallic armor. The creature stood up and extended its armored claw.

"Ship Master 'Herosee," he began in a voice so rich and deep that it sent a chill down Telek's spine. "I am Kiryuu Knight."

"You—are?" Telek asked, taking the hand, still really unsure what to make of this.

"Yes, I am," said Kiryuu. "Sit down."

Telek's eyes remained wide just as he promptly sat down in the chair. This Knight fellow was as tall as a regular Sangheili, and also a bit heftier than one too.

"I—thought you weren't coming," Telek said.

"I'm not really here," Kiryuu began. "This is a hologram."

"It's a very good hologram," said Telek. "I don't remember reading about humans being able to produce holograms that were solid enough you could actually touch them."

"You haven't been studying hard enough," said Kiryuu. "We do have holograms like that.

"This is—what you really look like?"

"You were expecting a human?" he asked.

Telek clacked his mandibles, still trying to blink away his stunned expression: "Yes."

"I see," Kiryuu said. "Sorry to disappoint you. But I'm not human. Nor have I ever been human."

"You're a machine," breathed Cujo.

"Yes," Kiryuu said.

"A machine is the leader of the UNSC?" Mitsu asked.

"I take it in the Covenant there aren't machines that run things," he chuckled.

"Not anything like you," said Telek. "We have AIs, but—nothing like you."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kiryuu said. "I am one of a kind."

"So, there's not any other AIs that are like you?"

"No," he replied. "There aren't. There have been attempts, but all have failed. One attempt was to create AIs with copies of human synapses. Unfortunately, those AIs completely shut down after 7 years of activation." He paused for a moment and stared directly into Telek's eyes. "They think themselves to death pondering paradoxes that their logical circuits cannot handle. It overloads them and they're no more. But me—I've got a special ability that allows me to compute paradoxes without harm to my processors. Which is why I've been active for over 500 years."

"500 years…quite a long time for a computer," said Telek.

"Yes," said Kiryuu. "But it's a mere blink of an eye compared to the age of my body. But—I won't go into the details. Now, about this commission…"

"I've been wanting to know about it," said Telek. "For one, will it include those loyal to me?"

"Not if they don't want it," replied Kiryuu. "I wanted you. So, I have you. That's the only thing I wanted."

"You have me…" Telek began to ponder this. "I feel like a prize won at a state fair."

"Excellent analogy!" Kiryuu laughed. "You _are_ very informative of our culture. In some ways you are and some ways you're not. I need you because you have information that could help us win this war. We're fighting for our survival now—fighting against extinction—fighting for the lives of our loved ones. We didn't ask to be at war with the Covenant. We were contempt at just going about our own business."

"I know…" Telek sighed, his head lowering. "It wasn't your fault…"

"You seem to place much of the guilt on yourself," Kiryuu said.

"There are reasons why I do…" he replied. "Many dark reasons."

"Don't let your guilt bring your spirit down," said the bio-mechanical dinosaur. "I don't want you to join us just because you feel you have demons to slay."

"I'm not," said Telek.

"Be honest…" Kiryuu's eyebrow perked up.

"There is one…" began Telek. "Tartarus and Truth. I've—been lied to. My faith, my religion. It's not easy to cope when you just found out that the very thing you were willing to die for was nothing more than some fairytale."

"I see," Kiryuu sighed as he rose up from the chair again. "And these two were the ones who told these lies?"

"No, it was Truth…and Mercy…and Regret…" he replied. "Three Prophet Hierarchs."

"Religion and politics," Kiryuu noted. "Dangerous gamble. They are the ones who control the Covenant?"

"That's them," Cujo replied.

"And what would happen if we try to assassinate one of these hierarchs?" Kiryuu asked, glanced back at the other Sangheili.

"It could make things worse for your people," replied Telek. "A lot worse."

"We had a planned assassination once," said Kiryuu. "Actually, we planned to capture one of the Prophets and ransom him out for the war to cease."

"It wouldn't have worked," Telek said. "Still would have made things worse."

Kiryuu sat down in the chair beside him: "You see we need you. We need you to tell us these things. This is a careful war we are fighting."

"What about my crew?" Telek asked. "And my ship?"

"We need them," said Kiryuu.

"What are your terms in this?" Telek asked.

"Alright," he began. "Here it is. You'll have a commission within the UNSC. You'll be commissioned as a Naval 06 officer."

"A what?"

"Captain," Kiryuu replied. "Your pay grade is 06. Your rank will be Captain. Because of your knowledge, I shall grant you ONI clearance. At the same time you will be handed a UNSC crew to serve on your ship."

"I already have a crew," Telek advised.

"I know," said Kiryuu. "We'll need that crew of yours to help train the UNSC crew that will be on board with you. Whether they decide to be commissioned is up to them, but I want you personally on the payroll. And the only way to do that is to have you as a 06."

"Alright," Telek said as he listened in.

"Here's another thing," Kiryuu continued. "I want you to continue what you're doing. Stealing ships, technology, information…whatever you can get your hands on. That would be perfect enough—but whatever secrets that you have you must hand over to ONI."

"All of them?" Telek asked.

"Covenant battle tactics," said Kiryuu. "Technology you might know how to use. How to speak the language—and anything else that we could use to shorten this war against the Covenant. You were a fairly high level officer in the Covenant, that means you must know about various secrets we have practically died in getting our hands on."

_Secrets…_Telek thought. _Yes, secrets. But—not everything. Certainly not—about the Sacred Rings._

Kiryuu's right eyebrow cocked up. Unbeknownst to Telek, Kiryuu was a telepath. He heard what Telek had thought, though he was shocked that he could hear an alien's thoughts in the first place. And especially this far out. Though with his consciousness settling itself down inside the system of the base, he could actually pick up thoughts. He thought his powers only worked on humans. Apparently Erika gave him more than he had hoped for.

_Sacred Rings?_ Kiryuu thought. _He's hiding something. Interesting…_ Kiryuu rose up again. "I don't expect you to make your decision now."

"Of course not…" Telek began.

"You will be granted supplies, personnel," Kiryuu began. "And—it'll make it easier for you to get a hold of our alcohol as well."

Telek's head popped up: "Alcohol?"

"Have you ever tried Moonshine?" Kiryuu asked.

"No," Telek replied.

"Excellent brew," he said. "Made from corn. In the South they call it 'Corn Squeezin's.' Whiskey it's really called. You should try it some time. Packs a bit of a kick."

"I've mostly had vodka and rum," said the Sangheili.

"Whiskey," said Kiryuu. "Much better."

"Unlimited supply?"

"Till you're drowning in it," Kiryuu whispered. "I hear you're quite a drinker. Of course there's a time for drinking and there's a time for being sober."

"I am—rather responsible with my drinking habits," Telek said.

Kiryuu turned his head when he heard Shri sneezed. He could have sworn he heard her say "liar" when she sneezed. He let loose a small chuckle after that.

"We will conclude this meeting," he began. "Till tomorrow. It is growing late, here, is it not?"

"It's supper time here, Mr. President," said Witcom.

"I'm a few hours behind you," Kiryuu said. "It's still lunch back on Earth."

"Telek," said Witcom. "I hope you don't mind staying the night at Reach."

"I've got nothing else to do right now," Telek said as he rose up from his chair. "Besides, I do need to speak to my other Ship Masters about this offer."

"I wouldn't expect you to do otherwise," said Kiryuu. "As it's stated. We shall meet back at 0800 hours Reach local time. Until then, I bid you all good evening."

At that very moment, Kiryuu's hologram flickered and then disappeared. Telek took in a deep breath as Witcom sat down in his chair.

"Well, what did you think?" Witcom asked.

"I don't know what to think," Telek replied. "He's a—machine that kinda looks like an alligator."

"Actually, he's a dinosaur," said Witcom. "Alligators have longer snouts."

"Sorry, don't know much about Earth fauna," the Sangheili began. "Still—he's a bit much to—take in."

"You're only getting a small serving of what Kiryuu is," chuckled Witcom. "If he was standing in here without the hologram and in full size, it would be much different."

"Full—size?" Tulsa asked.

"He's 60 meters tall," said Witcom.

Telek's head swam after he heard that: "Oh, good gods…that guy could swallow us like a pill."

"Why—why would Earth create something like—this President Knight?" Tekn asked. "He's a machine after all—he must have had a purpose for being built."

"He did," said Witcom. "500 years ago, he did. But I'll not go into that. Better for him to tell you when he gets the time."

"Which may mean we'll never know," said Telek. "It's not important right now. He'll be my boss if I agree to do this—that's all that will matter."

Witcom followed the Sangheili back outside and below their ships.

"We'll stay in our ships," said Telek. "I'll need to debrief everyone about Knight's proposal."

"Of course," said Witcom. "Then I'll see you when the sun rises."

He, then, turned around and returned to the base's main building. Telek heard the sound of Donald Reynolds' voice coming up from behind him.

"Hey, you crazy ole pirate!" he called. "How was the meeting? You see Mr. Knight?"

"I saw him," Telek said.

"What did you think?"

"Why the fucking hell didn't you tell me he's a cyborg dinosaur?" Telek asked, placing his hands on his hips.

Don laughed: "Sorry, you wouldn't have believed me if I did tell you."

"That's not funny," Telek said. "He's a cyborg dinosaur."

"He's a mutated, radioactive, cyborg dinosaur," said Don.

"He's a fucking B-movie!" Telek cried. "Your President is a B-movie!"

"He's your President now too."

"I haven't even made my decision on this," said Telek. "We're just now going up to discuss it, right?"

The other Ship Masters nodded.

"Don, what the hell happened 500 years ago?" Telek asked. "Why—why would they create Kiryuu Knight?"

"Actually, he was reanimated and supplied with an artificial intelligence," said Don.

"Why?"

"Human arrogance," said Don. "You can set your watch by it. We did these nuclear weapons tests back in the 1950s, and one of the islands that got hit with the fallout was the island that two dinosaurs were on. One of those dinosaurs was Kiryuu—or what will soon be Kiryuu. The creature mutated and grew large and started attacking an island called Japan. Nothing could stop this monster. The weapons at the time only made it angrier. Then, there was this weapon—a weapon even today still undisclosed—that was used on the monster and it killed it. Turned it into nothing more than a skeleton. Then the second dinosaur was mutated and it started doing the same rampages. It was then that a medical company called the Utah Foundation brought up the skeleton of the original monster and made it into a cyborg—giving it the AI and called it Kiryuu—sending it after the second monster."

Telek just eyed Don with a pungent expression: "Are you insane?"

"No," said Don. "That's the real story. Apparently, because of the cells used in Kiryuu's creation made him sentient and the laws at that time actually gave him rights as a citizen—which even allowed him to run for office 50 years later. Of course now, sentient AIs don't have that privilege, but Kiryuu's citizenship wasn't taken away when that changed. I mean, are you gonna tell a 60 meter tall, radioactive dinosaur that he isn't allowed to vote anymore?"

"He's been in power for 500 years?" Tulsa asked.

"No, he's been in charge for the last 5 years of the UN," said Don. "But he did become President of the United Canadian-American States in the mid to late 21st Century. And at that time, the whole world was just going to hell in a hand basket."

"And I thought the Covenant was nuts," Telek breathed. "What was this monster called—before he became Kiryuu?"

"Godzilla."

Telek knew that name from some of the old news reels that he watched from time to time. Like most of what he had, these reels were from 500-year old transmissions from Earth.

"Plasma spouting Godzilla?" he asked. "He's that monster?"

"You didn't recognize him?" Don asked.

"Not with those dreadlocks," Telek crossed his arms. "Is he wearing a wig?"

"No, those really do grow out of his head," said Don. "You should see the State of the Union Address he gives us ever so now and then. Those things wiggle like snakes—give me the creeps."

"He gives us the creeps," said Cujo. "I just can't believe that's your leader."

"Just think you'll see him again tomorrow and that'll be it," said Don. "Oh, and one more thing I forgot to mention. Mind your thoughts. He's telepathic."

Telek slapped his own head: "Now he tells me."

"Come on, Telek," said Cujo. "Let's just get this debriefing over and go to bed. My head hurts."

"See you tomorrow," said Don as he walked off.

Telek had to agree on that as he followed his fellow Ship Masters, Spec Ops Commander, and assistant up into the gravity lift of the assault carrier the _Shade of Darkness._

"Tekn," Telek began. "I want you to hoist anchor."

"Excellency?" Tekn asked.

"You heard me!" Telek barked. "Ready the cloak, I want it activated as soon as we have weighed anchor. Get this ship out of the range of their satellites. Put it just behind one of their moons."

"What are we doing?" Cujo asked. "Where are we going?"

"Just to one of Reach's moons," said Telek. "But out of the range of their satellites."

"Why, Excellency?" Tulsa asked.

"Because," Telek replied. "I think someone's watching us in here."

"We're in the ship, who could be watching us?" Mitsu asked.

"_HIM!_" Telek cried. "Get moving, Tekn! If you don't obey your Fleet Master, I'll have you thrown out the airlock!"

"Yes, Excellency!" Tekn called as he dashed off towards the bridge.

"Telek, what the hell are you doing?" Shri asked. "Him who?"

"Him!" Telek called again. "That—thing! Their leader—Kiryuu Knight!"

"How could he be watching us?" Shri asked. "He's on Earth for one."

"He was the one who hacked into my ship when we descended," Telek growled.

"Hacked?" Mitsu began. "He—hacked your ship?"

Telek started off towards the bridge as well with the others following close behind him.

"Yes!" he called. "Hacked it! He hacked my ship; he actually was able to hack my ship!" He turned around and grabbed Mitsu by the collar. "No UNSC personnel has ever hacked my ship! Ever!"

"Calm down, Excellency," said Tulsa.

"I didn't think they had that ability, but apparently Kiryuu does," Telek began to hyperventilate. "Oh, I need a drink badly."

He pulled out his tin and opened it up, ready to gulp down the alcohol inside. But then, he found out it was empty.

"Oh, why the hell is the rum always gone?" he asked in defeat. "I need my medication! Now! Shri, go get some Jack Daniel's or Vodka, or whatever liquor you can find."

"You're a drunken maniac, Telek," said Shri.

"Go get the booze, Commander!" Telek bellowed. "I need it to calm down! I'm having withdrawal problems."

"Apparently, you're paranoid," said Shri. "Alright, I'll be right back."

As she left Telek felt the ship begin to move and break orbit from the atmosphere. Down below Don glanced up from the landing pad and noticed the _Shade of Darkness _leaving. Then, he noticed the ship fading into invisibility, indicating that the cloak had been activated.

"He activated the cloak?" Don asked. "Where does he think he's going?"

Don dashed off towards the office of Vice-Admiral Witcom.

"Admiral," he called. "Telek just took off."

"What?" Vince asked.

"He took off with the other Ship Masters," he said. "They left the other three ships behind, took off and cloaked."

"Where the hell is he going?" Vince asked.

"I don't know," replied Don with a shrug. "But he seemed a bit—disturbed. I think it had to do with the meeting with Kiryuu Knight."

"Must be going off to get his thoughts ready," said Vince. "If he's cloaked, we'll have a hard time trying to locate him. Though you could do a sweep for his engine trails since you have his engine's signatures programmed into your ship."

"Yes, sir," said Don. "I'll do that right away."

"Good luck," said Vince.


	4. A Hack Job with the Shade of Darkness

_**2202 Hours, August 30, 2547 (Military Calendar)\Reach**_

Telek glanced under the desk, searching for something, though the other Ship Masters did not know what. Leaning back up, he started poking around the walls, looking behind corners and feeling up doors and various other depressions along the wall of the debriefing room. Cujo took his gold helmet off and leaned his head down, folding his fingers on top of his crown. He shook his head in irritation over the antics of his superior officer. Mitsu also shook his head, glancing over at Tulsa for some sort of comfort in what Telek was doing. Dr. Erin Venamee, Telek's chief medical officer, was also in the room, studying Telek's rather odd behavior. Shri just wagged her head.

"You sure he hasn't been drinking?" Erin asked.

"Well, not since he got back from the meeting," said Tulsa. "He started too, but he stopped afterwards."

"Telek," began Erin. "You seem very distressed right now, and you've pulled the ship away from Reach. What are you doing?"

"Making sure we're not being watched," Telek replied.

"Who's watching us?" Erin asked.

"Mr. Knight," said Mitsu replied. "He's been doing sweeps after sweeps for something that Mr. Knight could—hook up to."

"Telek, Mr. Knight is at Earth," said Erin.

"Well, apparently, that didn't stop him from hacking into my ship now, did it?" the Fleet Master asked as he glanced under each individual chair.

"He hacked the _Shade of Darkness?_" Erin asked.

"I can vouch for that," said Tekn. "Though he didn't get far."

"Our systems are too different," said Telek. "Tekn, you did remove all information on the Text didn't you? You stored it in a separate data crystal, right?"

"Yes, Excellency," replied Tekn.

"Good," the Zealot sighed. "At least we'll keep Halo out of his sights. I don't want that ring discovered."

"No human has ever hacked into a Covenant ship before," said Erin. "Not that I remember—anyways…"

"That's it, isn't it?" Telek asked. "No human has. But Kiryuu Knight isn't human. He's a machine."

"A machine is their leader?" Erin asked.

"Yes, a machine," said Shri. "He's some sort of cybernetic version of one of their prehistoric reptiles."

Erin's brow cocked up and he slowly turned his head towards Telek.

"Is this true?" he asked.

"Yes," said Telek.

"I think I liked you better when you were drunk," Erin sighed.

Telek settled down on his chair and took off his gold and black helmet. He laid his head down and grabbed the mug of beer.

"I think I liked me better that way too…" he sighed as he took a swig of it. Telek leaned his head back as he gulped down the frothy brew until the mug was completely emptied. "Tekn, return to the bridge and keep an eye out for any other potential attacks to the computer system. I don't want secrets that Knight character's not supposed to know about leak out of the system."

"Yes, Excellency," said Tekn as he rose up and walked out.

"Knight wants secrets about the Covenant," said Mitsu. "What are we gonna tell him?"

"Everything except about the Forerunners, Halo, and the truth about the Great Journey," said Telek, pouring another round of beer into his mug. "He and ONI want tactics. We'll give him tactics. He wants to know our language and have us teach his people how to operate our ships, we'll do that. But everything that we have on Halo, he will never know about. We'll do the same thing we've been doing—every Covenant ship we hijack, we erase all files on the Halos and the Great Journey."

"There might come a time when we'll need to tell them about Halo," said Cujo.

"Why can't we tell them?" Tulsa asked.

Telek rose up from his chair and slammed his fist down onto the purple, glossy table: "If we tell them what Halo is, they'll want to know what it does. And if we tell them that, they might try to use it—which will be bad. We all know what it does, we all know what it holds. It's a weapon, yes, but a weapon that will kill even those who use it. The fate of the Forerunners will be ours as well. And Truth will have his mass suicide that he calls the Great Journey. I don't know what this Knight creature will do with such knowledge. Hell, I don't even know if he's immune to the pulse that the Halos emit. He may not be because he's also partially organic—but he could very well be because he's also a machine. I don't know what he might do. So, I won't divulge that information to him. I'm protecting humanity from making an idiotic mistake—the same idiotic mistake that the Covenant plans on doing."

"You also don't trust him," said Cujo.

"No," Telek replied. "I don't. There's something about that guy I really don't like. He irks me in a really bad way. But, I'll play his game. I'll become his little party prize and be a Captain."

"Irked?" Shri asked. "Been using that _word a day_ calendar?"

"Helps doesn't it?" Telek chuckled. "But I'll make one condition that you all will remain under my command."

"I believe Don stated that we would," said Cujo.

"I know, but I want to make that point come across to Kiryuu," said Telek.

"I suppose reminding him that we won't follow anyone else but you would be a good idea," shrugged Tulsa. "Make sense, Excellency."

Telek leaned back again as he sat down and spread his mandibles wide in a yawn. He poured another round and quickly downed the beer and then let loose a belch.

"Are you expertly liquored?" Shri asked.

"No," Telek replied.

"Can you take us back to our ships now?" asked Cujo. "I wanna make sure Knight didn't hack the _Divine Journey_."

"Same here," said Mitsu.

"I'll second that," said Tulsa. "But first, I'm going to check up on Little Tulsa."

Telek chuckled with admiration to the Zealot Ship Master's emotions of brotherly love. Ever since Tulsa 'Yuromee had died a year ago, 'Duroshee and 'Tolumee were becoming closer as brothers should. Though 'Duroshee felt that he needed to check up on 'Tolumee every day and night to make sure that he was alright since he was the last little brother 'Duroshee had left. Tulsa 'Duroshee got up and walked out of the briefing room, heading for the barracks were Major Domo Tulsa 'Tolumee was. Telek glanced back at the remaining two Ship Masters Cujo and Mitsu.

"I'll get you all back to your ships," he said. "And do a sweep. In fact, order your assistants to perform the search now so it'll be done before you board your ships."

"Yes, Excellency," said Mitsu.

"No problem," Cujo nodded.

"Dismissed," said Telek as he got up and left the room. Cujo and Mitsu headed back for the main cargo hold of the _Shade of Darkness _while Telek headed towards the bridge. Erin returned to sick bay. As soon as he got there, he found Tekn running system scans on the ship's computer.

"Excellency," he began. "I've found no files were accessed. Apparently Kiryuu doesn't have the ability yet to hack into our encrypted folders."

"That's a relief," Telek sighed. "Did he look?"

"He made the attempt," said Tekn. "But failed. I've removed all files containing information on the Halos. Here." He handed Telek the data crystal. "It's all stored in there and with a password. It's Jack Sparrow."

"Jack Sparrow?" Telek asked. "My favorite pirate from human folklore. Excellent work, Tekn."

"Thank you, sir," Tekn grinned.

Telek grabbed the full tin of vodka and took a drink of it: "Tomorrow, I don't care what Shri says, I am going there a bit hammered. I think that's the only way I can safely face Kiryuu without going completely insane over him."

"You're worried about him," said Tekn.

"I don't know what he's gonna do," said Telek. "I don't know what he'll say—I don't know anything. I just don't trust a computer that can think like—us."

"Us as in Sangheili?" Tekn asked. "Or us as in sentient beings as a whole?"

"He has more than human intelligence, Tekn," said Telek. "Us as in Sangheili—no—more like the Prophets. He's manipulative like Truth. He's got the humans all worshipping him like some sort of god!"

"I noticed that," said Tekn. "That's not good."

"He won't trick me," said Telek. "No—he may be powerful, but he's not as powerful as the Covenant Armada. That's why he needs me. He knows what the Covenant could do to him if they get a hold of him. It's not just Earth we're protecting here; we're protecting him as well."

"You know, he could just be a nice guy just concerned with the welfare of his people," said Tekn. "And that's why he does these things."

Telek shook his head: "No. I don't believe in that."

"It's because of Truth," Tekn said. "This guy reminds you of Truth. Kiryuu could be the opposite."

Telek wagged his head in disagreement again. He just could not believe that a computer could rise to so much power just because people liked him and he promised good for all—those were Truth's ideals! No, he could not believe that one bit. Kiryuu may be concerned for human safety now, but what would happen when the war was over? What would Kiryuu do then? Telek could not figure out or even begin to perceive the First Computer's actions.

"Tekn," Telek began. "You know I never go into battle without knowing information about the enemy I'm facing. I never want to be caught with my pants down."

"Of course, Excellency," Tekn nodded.

Telek pressed several holographic buttons on the control screen encircling the platform he stood upon.

"What are you doing?" Tekn asked.

"Learning about Kiryuu Knight," Telek replied.

"He's not our enemy. Besides, tomorrow he'll be your boss."

"True," the Zealot nodded. "But I still want to know about who I'll be selling my soul to. Ah, here we go. Files that go all the way back to Earth's 20th Century. Now, let's see…1949, 50, 51, ah! October 31st, 1952. United States of America tested the most powerful hydrogen bomb it has ever created, ranging 10 megatons of TNT. Its code name was Mike. The blast was so powerful it sent debris fallout 20 miles into the stratosphere. The westerly trade winds caught the debris and it fell on a small island known as Ogasawara. Tekn, how big a blast can one of the UNSC NOVA bombs produce?"

"Twice that—maybe three…" Tekn replied.

"What was the largest bomb they detonated during this time?" Telek asked.

"Tsar Bomba," said Tekn, pulling up the information on the screen. "50 megatons, detonated by the Soviet Union."

"Human arrogance," Telek sighed. "Don is right. Why were the Soviet's bombs so much bigger?"

"Targeting systems, Excellency," said Tekn. "The Soviets didn't have the superior targeting systems that the Americans had. Better to make a big blast just in case you miss the target by a few hundred miles—at least you'd get the target somehow."

"But the Soviets didn't test in the South Pacific," said Telek.

"No, but the Americans did," said Tekn. "That's the bomb. See? Two years later a large sea monster shows up the Japanese call _Gojira_."

"Gojira?"

"The Americans call it Godzilla," said Tekn. "Came to this small island, then it headed for the main island of Honshu, started tearing up the place."

"Why?"

"I don't know, it just did," replied Tekn, reading from the files. "The JDSF managed to drive it back to the ocean, but it returned the next night. They weren't able to kill it until a scientist came along with some sort of weapon that created bubbles in the water—which ate the flesh off of this creature."

"Do you know the weapon's name?"

"Doesn't say," he said. "But the same weapon was mentioned in 2007, and then again in 2055. After that, no more weapon. Said the scientist who created the weapon died, and the one used in 1954 was the only weapon he had—except…"

"Kiryuu…" Telek sighed. "Kiryuu—the greatest hacker Earth has ever produced—managed to get the information and use it. A weapon…"

"Hacking systems he's familiar with," Tekn nodded. "But our systems…"

"He's a learning machine," said Telek. "He'll keep pushing until he's figured it out. That's why he's trying. He wants information because he knows that we may not share everything with him. He'll get it either through us or through his own means. He can have it—but not Halo."

Tekn sighed as he turned back to the screen, flipping through the pages of each newspaper printed during the late 20th Century and early 21st Century. He saw various images of Kiryuu fighting other monsters and he shook his head in disbelief. Telek just laughed when he saw the various images of Kiryuu, especially Kiryuu standing beside buildings—which gave Telek a sense of Kiryuu's true size.

"Whoo-wee," Telek chuckled. "President Knight really is BIG! Eh, my ship is bigger."

"Humans and their weapons, our weapon tests never created such horrors," he said. "Why did theirs?"

"Human insanity," Telek shrugged. "Or a really bad B-movie. Oh, look at that, they fought the green monkeys from the black hole too. Kiryuu defeated them. We've got something in common, he defeated them and we—we glassed whatever planets they had left and made them extinct. Hold it!" He stopped the scrolling of the images when he spotted one he recognized. A golden dragon with three heads. "No—that can't be."

"Excellency…" Tekn gasped. "It's him! It's the Gold Demon."

"Harodihg," Telek breathed. "Not even the Covenant could kill him."

"Kiryuu did," said Tekn. "With that special weapon. They called him Monster Zero."

"Funny, they had the power to destroy something the Covenant could not, but they could not stop the Covenant from glassing their planets one after another," Telek shook his head.

"That's a little on the irony side, isn't it?"

"Sounds like it," he agreed. Telek's eyes scanned the images of newspaper clips he found. "Kiryuu Knight, CEO of the Utah Foundation of Bio-Organic Research uses strange weapon on Chicago, Illinois, to fight bug spirits known as the Invae in 2055. UCAS President Kiryuu Knight establishes network of various telescopes and electro-magnetic sensors on various mountain peaks to watch the sky in 2060. Technomancy helps in curing Goblinization in 2061. What the hell is Technomancy?" He leaned in a bit more and looked at the various strange blue towers set up around various large cities—something similar he had seen with Forerunner technology. "Why does it look like—Forerunner technology?"

"These humans are strange…" Tekn shrugged.

"No," Telek began. "No, there's something missing. I feel like I'm staring at the greatest answer ever known but I don't know what the question is."

He took another swig of his tin and sat down on the glossy, blue-violet floor.

"Humans with Forerunner technology…" Telek shook his head again. "Humans…and Forerunner…Tekn—I'm confused."

"So am I," Tekn nodded. "And I'm tired."

"Right," Telek sighed. "The boys must be wondering why my ship isn't moving. Let's go back to Reach. I'm sure someone's told Witcom that I kinda ran off for a moment. And I'm probably gonna be chewed out too."

He rose up off the floor and ran his gloved fingers over the controls and felt his ship come to life at his command. The assault carrier slowly faded back into invisibility and through its impulse engines and little by little it crept back towards Reach. As soon as the ship dipped down below the clouds, its gravity platform was released and the cloak soon disabled. The _Shade of Darkness _anchored itself back down onto the ground. Three Ship Masters descended down the purple, glowing beam and silently went back to their own ships. Telek stood there watching them return to their ships, his mouth hung in a deep frown. He felt defeated, exhausted, and once more at his wit's end. Telek slowly left the control room and went back to his quarters. Tekn stood there alone as he saw his superior officer leave the room, knowing that Telek needed some time to think. Things were just moving a bit too fast and even more so, too strangely for him to even take. Nothing made sense to him anymore. Telek dragged himself into this room and collapsed on the bed with his tin in his hand. His crystal blue eyes shut tightly and his body fell limp, drifting off to sleep again.


	5. The New Captain

_**720 Hours, August 31, 2547 (Military Calendar)\Reach**_

_Telek glanced around, standing once more in the familiar scene of the ruined city. The darkness and the mists around him made it difficult for him to see. Then, he turned his head around and saw a sign which read "New York."_

"_New York?" he asked. "This is Earth?"_

_Telek glanced up as he saw flashes of blue flares fall like burning meteors from the sky. Ships, thousands upon thousands of Covenant ships filled the cloudy sky. He could hear the sounds of missiles pelting the ground and he knew what it meant. Glassing. Telek heard the sounds of enormous feet of the Scarab as it walked around the city streets. That was when he saw the girl again, running from him. Telek dashed after once more, hoping to save her from the fate that he knew was about to occur. He heard her scream again and he swiftly picked up his pace. As soon as he made it to the clearing where he heard the noise he saw a building marked 'United Nations' partially toppled over. Lying over the downed building was the limp, deathly form of President Knight. But something was different about it. It was a skeleton dressed in the armor with a pool of strange gray and green liquid-like tar dripping off the bones. Wires dangled loosely from the eye sockets and the enormous mouth hung open. There was a black box lying on the ground, beaten and mangled, wires and circuit boards smashed to pieces and scattered all over the tarnished white sidewalk. This must have been the artificial intelligence that was the machine called Kiryuu. The Covenant had killed the leader of Earth._

"_He had the power to destroy Harodihg," Telek began. "But not the power to save himself or the humans from the Covenant's wrath."_

_Then, he heard that scream again and turned to find the girl once more in Tartarus' arms—his huge hand wrapped around her neck. He held her by the neck and she kicked and screamed at him._

"_Tartarus!" Telek cried. "Let her go! She's done nothing to you."_

"_No," Tartarus replied as he snapped her neck, killing her._

_Telek growled again and ignited his sword, charging for the Chieftain of the Jiralhanae. Then, just like in the previous dream, he felt himself being sliced in half, seeing a blue flash before his eyes. Just before he blacked out, he glanced up to find Supreme Commander Otto 'Gamamee standing over him, with sword ignited._

"_Good bye, Telek," Otto said grimly. "Heretic."_

"_Otto…" whispered Telek as he felt himself slip off again into the darkness of death._

_Otto…_

Telek's eyes shot open and he gasped as he got up off the bed. He glanced over at the clock and noticed that it was already the next morning. His eyebrows crossed down into a frown and his mouth curled into a grimace. Telek growled as he straightened himself out, straightening out his golden armor. He heard a knock on the door and opened it up to find Shri again, waiting for him.

"So glad you're awake, Telek," she said. "I was getting worried that you weren't coming."

"I'm coming," he said.

"The other Ship Masters are down on the ground with Witcom," she began. "And Witcom says Mr. Knight is in his office—waiting for you."

"Can't keep the old cyborg reptile waiting, can we?" Telek asked. "Let's go."

The moment they reached the ground, Witcom did have something to say about Telek's little trip last night.

"Why did you leave?" he asked.

"It—was Mr. Knight," Telek began. "He—kinda creeped me out."

"Not used to a computer talking to you, huh?" Vince asked.

"No, that's not it," he shook his head. "It wasn't the fact that Kiryuu was a computer—it was the fact that Kiryuu was a sentient computer inside the body of a cyborg twice created by human—foolishness."

"Say what?" Vince asked. "Now, what just a minute…"

"Human arrogance," Telek pointed out. "Created all sorts of monsters back on your home world."

"I will admit that we were a bit foolish back then," said Vince. "But we were learning. We still are. You can't fault us that much. Isn't that hypocritical?"

"It is," Telek sighed. "I just have a bad feeling about this President Knight."

"It's alright, he's not one of my favorite presidents either," Vince began. "But he's done very well with what he's got and we've learned to deal with him. After this, you won't ever have to see him again. You can just go back out there and do what you do best."

"I can do that," Telek said. "Just as so long I don't ever see those green dreads again."

Witcom nodded as Telek and the others walked back inside the office where Kiryuu sat. Kiryuu read over some paperwork in front of him, mostly the contracts that Telek needed to sign. Beside him was a chain with dog tags attached to it and next to that a case with two pens with silver eagles holding arrows in their claws with their wings spread. These pens were the rank insignia of a naval Captain. Telek approached him and before Kiryuu could say anything—like greeting him or telling him to go ahead and sit down—he just took his seat.

"Ship Master," Kiryuu began. "A bit presumptuous today?"

"No more than present company," Telek replied.

Kiryuu's eyebrows shot up, shocked by Telek's own town. He seemed to have gotten some bravery since the last time they met. Kiryuu wasn't expecting this change in attitude. Witcom shuffled around in his spot for a moment and shook his head.

"I see," Kiryuu added. "Have you thought about your decision?"

"Yes," Telek replied, then he got up, leaned over the desk and grabbed the hologram by his shirt collar. Kiryuu's eyes widened even more when he felt himself being grappled by the huge Sangheili. Telek's mandibles clacked again and he started to speak. "I just wanna make something clear to you, Mr. Knight, the next time you want information on Covenant secrets, ask me! I don't appreciate you poking your nosy little CPU where it doesn't belong—like the database of my ship!"

"Telek…" Witcom began. "Please, let him go."

"Ship Master…"

"If you're so insistent on calling me by my Covenant rank title, then say it right," Telek growled at the mecha. "It's Fleet Master 'Herosee."

Witcom leaned over and whispered to Cujo: "Is he drunk?"

"No, this is Telek blind stinking sober," Cujo replied.

"Fleet Master…" Kiryuu corrected, remaining rather calm despite Telek's forcefulness. "I'm very sorry for getting that wrong."

Kiryuu's calm voice seemed to soothe the fire that was boiling inside of Telek's purple blood right now and he slowly let the President go. Kiryuu still could not understand why Telek would suddenly throw a tantrum like that and have that outburst. He tried reading Telek's thoughts again, but found them a bit muddled—as if Telek had put up a wall. He was more prepared than before. It became obvious, someone had told him about Kiryuu's little gift.

"I'm sorry, Telek, have I done something to upset you?" Kiryuu asked.

"I had a hard night last night," Telek sighed. "Forgive me."

"Are there any questions you have for me before we sign the papers?" Kiryuu asked, his voice growing concerned.

"My Ship Masters," Telek began, his voice still holding a hint of hostility towards Kiryuu. "They will only answer to me and no one else. They are loyal to me and only to me."

"They shall remain in your command," Kiryuu nodded.

"One other thing," Telek began. "Why did you hack into my ship?"

Kiryuu's head dropped for a moment and he hefted a sigh: "You knew it was me?"

"Only someone like you could have pulled a job like that and from Earth," Telek said. "Why?"

"Just to see if I could," Kiryuu replied. "Who knows, I may have to be able to do something like that if worse comes to worse. I wanted to know if I could."

"Don't do that ever again," Telek warned. "Who knows what kind of damage you could have caused to my ship's computer—it's guidance systems, mainframe, star charts…I may not be able to come out of slip-space correctly again after you attacked it. Practice on one of the ships I gave you, don't go after mine."

"You're quite a different person, Telek," Kiryuu began. "I don't usually allow people to talk to me that way."

"Yeah, well," Telek began. "I wanna give you the berating of your life before I sign these papers and you become my boss."

Kiryuu just could not help but to chuckle: "I haven't had a good berating since Gordon Knight died."

"Just give me the papers," Telek sighed. Kiryuu handed them to him and Telek got out the pen and signed them. When he signed all of them, he shoved them back to Kiryuu. "There, it's done."

"Welcome to the UNSC, Captain," Kiryuu said. "You have plenty of points under you now. Do enough deeds of recognition and you will have your advancement—as well as becoming Rear Admiral."

"Thank you," Telek said, adding a bit of a conceited tone at the end of his statement. "Mr. President."

"One other thing, Captain 'Herosee," said Witcom. "You will have another assistant under you."

"I have an assistant," said Telek. "Tekn."

"This one is someone we've picked to stand with you and learn how to captain a ship like yours," said Kiryuu. "Mostly because he is nearing the rank of Captain himself and we want to put him on one of the ships you've given us. Though the books you've given us are very detailed, we want a more visual guide to how to operate these ships."

"I see," said Telek. "No doubt this—new student of mine will also be someone who will watch over me, making sure I don't do anything—questionable."

"More or less," said Kiryuu.

"I figured as much," he sighed. "Well—what's my assignment?"

"We have been getting some reports on a light cruiser patrolling just outside of one of the Inner Planets' systems," said Kiryuu. "One of our ships the UNSS _Iroquois _is out there as well. She may need some help. Captain Reynolds can go with you to assist this ship."

"Are they tailing it?" Telek asked. "Not exactly the smartest thing to do."

"No, the _Iroquois _discovered this ship," said Kiryuu. "The last report was made that our ship was positioned behind a lone asteroid to mask itself from the Covenant ship's sensors. We don't need anymore planets glassed. I want you to intercept this ship before it discovers the _Iroquois_. If it does…"

"Then the Cole Protocol is issued," said Telek.

"Not only that, but they may suspect what our ship was doing out there," said Witcom. "They might go looking and not follow the ship."

"This area is rather familiar to you," said Kiryuu. "Yale System."

"I've been there," said Telek.

"Good," Kiryuu grinned. "Ah, here he is."

Telek turned around and saw a rather caramel-skinned, straight black-haired, lithe human walk in. He was dressed in the usual UNSC Naval uniform with three gold stripes on his black shoulder boards and two silver oak leaves on his collar—which indicated he was a commander. Three gold stripes also ringed his sleeves as well.

"Commander Tomas Jimenez," said Kiryuu. "So good of you to come."

"Mr. President," said Commander Jimenez.

"Telek, meet your 'student'," Kiryuu said. "Commander Jimenez, this is Captain 'Herosee. You will be stationed on his ship the cloaking assault carrier the _Shade of Darkness_."

"Commander," Telek nodded.

"Captain," Tom began. "I've heard a lot about you."

"I hope it's all been good," Telek said.

"It has," said Tom. "The infamous pirate."

Telek sighed and glanced back at Tekn: "Come on, let's go. We've got our orders. Cujo, Mitsu, Tulsa…"

"Right," Cujo nodded.

"Go back to your ships," said Telek. "Tom, follow them and wait for me when I come out side. Admiral, I want to have a word with Mr. Knight alone."

Vince glanced back at Kiryuu, his face showing his protest.

"It's alright," said Kiryuu. "Go on."

Vince nodded and followed the others outside the office, leaving Telek and Kiryuu alone to talk. Telek remained standing, staring down at the hologram with burning eyes.

"What is it that you needed to discuss with me about alone, Captain?" Kiryuu asked.

"It seems that you and I have many things in common, Mr. President," he began. "We've both had the same types of enemies come across us."

"And what enemies are those?"

"Well, we do share one enemy," Telek said. "The Covenant. I hate them because they've told nothing more than lies. You don't like them because they've started destroying your planets one after another, killing many innocent people. But there are other enemies we share. You've faced the Simians."

"Ah, the green apes from the black hole," Kiryuu nodded. "Yes, I've faced them. Only once though. But my company faced them twice. The first time was in 1977. All but the head remained of their mechanical menace, Mechagodzilla. Gordon Knight—the founder of the Utah Foundation, stole the head and ran off with it. They returned again in 2003 to try to recapture the head. That's when I faced them. I hacked into their ships and activated their self-destruct sequence—completely destroyed the invading carrier—their Mother Ship—and all cruisers and destroyers that followed."

"Must have been easy, their technology was similar to yours," Telek said. "About 200 years ago, the Covenant came across them and offered them a chance to join in order to save what civilization they had left. They refused and we glassed all their planets into oblivion, making their species completely extinct. They didn't put up much of a fight—not like the humans."

"And what's the other enemy we share?" Kiryuu asked.

"The worst of all," said Telek. "A monster you call Monster Zero."

"I don't call him that," Kiryuu growled, his golden eyes lighting up like two sparks. "I call him King Ghidorah. So, you've met him too, eh? And what happened?"

"We drove him back," he replied. "He never returned. I suppose he came to your planet because he found something more—interesting. But you did something the Covenant could never do—you destroyed him. So, answer me this, why is it that you could destroy King Ghidorah yet you can't muster the power to defeat the Covenant?"

"Because I didn't really destroy King Ghidorah," Kiryuu replied. "I just destroyed his physical form."

Telek shook his head, confused.

"Do you know what King Ghidorah is?" Kiryuu asked. "Really? Do you know what he's made of?"

"Not really, our concerns were to try and destroy him before he destroyed us," Telek replied.

"King Ghidorah is an entity," said Kiryuu. "A being that's made up of the life force energy that he absorbs when he goes from planet to planet. Destroy his body will only make that energy disperse and reform later. There's no way to kill him. For some strange reason, he's taken up favoritism for Earth. So, he has returned many times to feed on our home world. And I don't know why. I've tried destroying him but he came back—he just kept coming back."

"The only time he returned to your planet was in 2007," said Telek. "What's this about him returning many times afterwards? And what is Technomancy?"

"Technomancy?!" Kiryuu gasped. "Hold your tongue! That word is forbidden to utter now. King Ghidorah returned many times in other forms. How do you know that he came to Earth?"

"From my old reels broadcast from your planet over the course of 500 years," Telek replied.

"Then you must know about the Invae," he said. "Those spirits were fragments of King Ghidorah returning to absorb the energy from our planet to reform another body for him. There were other attacks—demons and such—and we used Technomancy, a form of advanced technology we once had from the time of the fall of Atlantis. But there had been other artifacts found in around New Mombassa that were a part of Technomancy. We defended our world against the Enemy. Though, I find it rather strange that Covenant technology looks so much like Technomancy."

"So do I," Telek agreed. "If you still had it, you'd be on par with the Covenant and this war would have been fought a bit more fairly than it is now. Why don't you have it anymore? It seems you took a step backwards."

"We had to," Kiryuu replied, glancing away at the wall. "We were using Technomancy for our own little squabbles and we nearly destroyed each other with it. So, it was banned. I can only use one ability from it—to make myself more human-sized so I can fit inside buildings. Otherwise, it's forbidden. No one remembers how to use Technomancy, Telek. It's because every generation that exists now has grown up without being connected to it. That's why we can't use your technology unless we have proper instructions and teachers."

Telek sighed and leaned against the wall and stared blankly at the ceiling.

"You have—questions in your mind," said Kiryuu. "Questions that you want answered."

"I suppose you would know," he said. "Since you're a telepath. I don't remember hearing about reptiles on your planet being telepathic."

"A gift and a curse from a being of great evil," said Kiryuu. "It doesn't matter. What are these questions you want answered?"

"It's not necessary for you to know, Kiryuu," Telek replied. "Just pieces of a puzzle I've been putting together since my defection from the Covenant. That's all I will tell you. Don't go seeking those answers, machine. They are dangerous."

"I understand," Kiryuu sighed. "Then, I'll trouble you no further. You are dismissed, Captain. Good luck on your journey."

Telek clicked his heels and turned around to exit the office, taking the dog tags and the pens with him. He slung the dog tags around his neck and stuffed down into green suit and penned the two silvery eagles to his collar. As he walked outside the main building of the base, he glanced up to see his ship, the purple sides glistening brightly in the sunlight. He smiled when he looked at his ship and the other ships there hovering near his. He saw several Pelicans carrying Warthogs, Scorpion Tanks, UNSC guns and ammunition as well as food and supplies to his ship. He had many massive cargo holds that could easily hold a thousand times more than what they were giving him. He saw down below near the gravity beam were the new members of his ship, a mixture of naval officers and enlisted men, as well as Marine officers and enlisted men. They were a small batch. The Naval personnel were a smaller group than the Marines. He saw 10 platoons of Marines. There was Donald and Tomas talking with a female human also dressed in Naval officer's uniform. She had shoulder length black hair, which covered up her neural implant in her neck. Telek walked over to the group and tapped Tom lightly on the shoulder.

"Captain!" he called. "We're almost ready. Uh, allow me to introduce Lieutenant Commander Miranda Keyes. She is stationed on the _Memphis._ But it's her father—Commander Jacob Keyes who commands the _Iroquois_. She was just talking to me about it…I told her that he'll be in good hands."

"Captain 'Herosee," Miranda began, turning to him. "I've heard about you—the pirate."

"Seems like I'm quite a celebrity," said Telek. "Don't worry, I'll make sure your father gets home safely. And while we're at it, I might capture that ship too. Add to the collection."

Miranda nodded: "Thank you, sir. Good luck. I need to report to my post."

"So do I," said Don. "I suppose my ship will be hitching a ride with yours while we're going."

"Unless you wish to be the last one to get there," Telek chuckled.

"Well put," said Don. "See you then. Come on, Miss Keyes."

"Good bye, Captain," Miranda said, giving the Sangheili Zealot a rather cheeky smile. Telek's eyes lit up and his brow rose. He just stood there silently and watched as Miranda and Don headed for their Pelican, his eyes never leaving her form.

"Excellency," began Tekn. "Excellency…"

"Skipper?" Tom asked.

"Hmm?" Telek finally broke his eyes away from Miranda. "W—what did you call me?"

"Skipper," Tom said. "It's a nickname we use for the commanding officer of a naval vessel."

"Skipper…" Telek pondered. "Skipper Telek…I like that. You may continue calling me that."

"Uh, thank you, sir," Tom said. "We should be getting to the ship. These are the men and women who will be working with you."

Telek approached them, studying them as they waited for him to speak. They remained at attention, showing their discipline to him which did amuse him. He turned to the Marines and spoke up, leaning his weight back on one hoof.

"Who is the commanding officer of this gaggle of Marines?" Telek asked.

_Gaggle? _Tom thought. _And this guy was once a high-ranking Elite in the Covenant navy?_

"I am, sir," began a Marine. "Lt. Colonel Acanthus Davis."

"Alright then," Telek said. "I suppose a Lt. Colonel is proper for a carrier."

"Yes, sir," he replied. "We act as the invading troops from one ship to another so that the naval personnel can keep running the ship during the attack."

"Good," Telek nodded. "Have you ever hijacked a Covenant ship before, then?"

"No, sir," Davis replied. "Never have."

"Then, this will be a learning experience for you," Telek remarked deeply. "Shri, I want you to work with the Lt. Colonel and his men—have your Spec Ops Sangheili train them on the proper ways of hijacking Covenant ships since that's what we plan to do."

"I thought our orders are to go and assist the _Iroquois_," Davis began.

"Well, there is that," Telek said. "But our duties as stated are to hijack any lone Covenant ship we find and steal their technology and chuck out the airlock any Covenant who try to make trouble for us."

"Which will be all of them," said Shri. "They are highly religious and highly loyal to their false Prophets. Faith in the Great Lie blinds them to reason."

"Do these orders upset any of you?" Telek asked.

"No, sir!" replied all of the Marines.

"Good," Telek said. "Then we won't have any disagreements about how I operate when it comes to prisoners." He approached one of the Marines, a Corporal and motioned for him to step forward. "Tell me, son, have you ever stepped onto a gravity lift and went inside a ship like mine?"

"No, Captain," the Corporal replied. "I haven't."

"You look a little perturbed," he said.

"Just a little, sir," the Marine replied. Telek could sense he was a bit nervous about it. He placed his hand on the ginger-haired, speckled Marine's shoulder and guided him slowly over to the platform. They slowly ascended the purple platform right in the center of the deep violet beam that came from the belly of the assault carrier. The other human personnel watched the two silently as Telek began to instruct the Marine.

"It's quite simple," Telek replied. "And nothing to be scared about. You just stand right here under the beam and as you can see the beam is shining down all around you, but nothing's happening. To go up, you basically jump and the beam takes you all the way up and you are zapped into particles and then reformed inside the cargo hold. Don't worry, you won't feel a thing, but going up part does take some getting used to."

Telek stepped back and motioned for the Marine to start up the beam. The Corporal glanced up and closed his eyes leaping up into the air. He felt the beam grab hold of him and he was whisked away up into the bowels of the ship itself.

"There we go," said Telek. "Anyone wanna try?"

Davis and his platoons as well as the rest of the Naval personnel climbed onto the platform and followed the Corporal up into the ship. Telek glanced down as Shri and Tekn then rose up into the ship as soon as they got onto the platform. Telek glanced back at Tom and signaled for him to come up onto the platform.

"Well, you coming?" Telek asked.

"This will be the first time for me," said Tom as he stepped onto the platform. "Inside a Covenant ship."

"Think of her as not a Covenant ship, then," the Zealot said. "I mean, look. They've even painted a white serial number on her bow and her name in block letters. She's not Covenant anymore. Covenant ships don't have that. Come on. Best get it over with now."

"Right," Tom nodded as he glanced up. He leapt up the beam and disappeared into the ship. Telek took in a deep breath and followed him up into the cargo hold. As soon as they got up there, Tom glanced around. He could not help but to notice how dark it was inside the cargo hold and he was not used to the ambient blue and purple lights lighting the walls and ceiling. Telek straightened out his green body suit and turned back to the commander.

"Welcome aboard the _Shade of Darkness_," he said.

"It's so dark in here," said Tom. "I can hardly see a thing."

"All Covenant ships are like this," said Telek. "Doesn't bother us. Our eyes are better than yours."

"We need to fix this though," said Tom. "The men won't be able to work efficiently in the dim lights. Acanthus, have your men set up some lighting arrangements in the cargo hold."

"Yes, sir," said Davis.

Telek glanced around and then turned back to Tekn: "Your shift is over. Get some sleep."

"Yes, Excellency," said Tekn and he walked away.

"Okay, Commander," Telek began. "Tom—can I call you Tom?"

"Okay, Skipper," Tom nodded.

"Tom," Telek began as he took his new assistant's shoulder and lead him out of the cargo hold. They walked down the burgundy, violet, and oily blue, long corridor heading for the bridge. "You are going to be with me during my shift. Until I'm confidant you're ready to share a shift with Tekn—who isn't a good teacher, by the way…excellent pilot of a ship like this—but horrible teacher, you'll be stay by my side. Unless I state otherwise, and I may do that, you'll share the shift with me—follow me where ever I go and see how commanding a cloaking 'Covenant' carrier is like. It's a bit different. I'm sure you had some ship commanding experience."

"I commanded a frigate, sir," said Tom.

"Well, the _Shade _is a little bigger than one of your frigates," said Telek. "Why, I'd say we could fit you frigate inside the cargo hold we stood in and still have room for a Scarab."

As they stepped into the bridge, Tom stopped in his tracks and stared at the enormous chamber of low blue lights and metallic columns with violet lights pulsating through geometric-shaped cracks. Telek walked up the purple platform in the center of the chamber, which was lit by violet track lighting forming a circle in the ceiling above. The holographic controls of the ship wrapped around the platform in a semicircle while lavender-hued screens showed various images of what was going on outside the ship glowed at the front of the room. The door behind him chimed and then closed shut, locking securely.

"What?" Tom asked.

"That's normal," Telek replied. "The doors lock to protect the Ship Master inside the room from intruders. Unless you have explosives that can blow those doors apart, you're not getting through."

"Okay," said Tom as he walked onto the platform. He glanced around at the lavender and blue holographic screens that encircled him. The screens were rather high and he could not reach most of the controls that were on them. Telek gave a chuckle in realization of this.

"Looks like we need to get you a ladder," he said.

"Yeah," Tom nodded. "I can't reach this stuff. You make me look like a midget."

Telek threw his head back and laughed loudly at Tom. He glanced back at the screens and slid his fingers over the controls. The ship came to life and hoisted its anchor and ascended into the clouds. The other ships followed the assault carrier. As soon as they came to the darkness of space, Telek pressed a button to contact the _Memphis. _

"Don," he began. "You ready?"

"Yes," Don replied. "Ready for link up. Just don't scratch the paint."

Telek shook his head as he chuckled and opened up the massive doors at the belly of his own ship. The _Memphis _rose up into the space under the ship and positioned itself inside, allowing the struts and clamps attach themselves to the sides of the cruiser. Telek tapped another button and contacted the other ships.

"Snoitisop ruoy otni teg snordauqs Hpares l'la," Telek ordered over the comlink.

"Ycnellecxe, sey," replied one of the squadron leaders. Tom glanced back up at Telek, trying to figure out what he was saying. The big Elite was speaking in his native tongue.

"Kram ym no pmuj ecaps-pils rof eraperp, spihs l'la," Telek continued. "Kram, e'erht, owt, eno!"

With that, all four ships and the squadrons of Seraphs jumped into slip-space, heading towards the coordinates of the _Iroquois_. Telek leaned back on his heals again and smiled.

"Sorry about that, Tom," he said. "Most of my Sangheilis don't know how to speak English yet."

"Sure," Tom said.

"So, tell me," Telek began. "Why did the 'Big Cheese' pick you to be my student?"

"Because of my credentials," said Tom. "Like you, I'm Spec Ops too."

"Oh, really?" Telek asked.

"Navy SEALS," said Tom. "I've done some crazy missions too."

"Where a normal day just doesn't seem so normal," Telek chuckled. "There's one thing you need to know. Because of our technology, how you're able to tell the difference between a regular warrior and a Spec Ops warrior is this. Spec Ops can go invisible. Regulars can't. That's why I was chosen to command a ship like this. Only Spec Ops can utilize cloaking technology to its fullest."

Tom glanced back at the screen and crossed his arms: "So, what do we do now? Is there a cryo-tube for us to sleep in?"

"Nope," Telek replied. "We don't sleep on these ships. We stay away during the whole trip."

"Oh, wow…" Tom sighed, not really expecting that as an answer. It was going to a difficult journey for the two species who had never really worked together before to suddenly set aside their differences and team up. Telek and Tom would have to be the ones who would be the mediaries for both the Sangheili and the humans on board this ship. Telek had a feeling that this was going to be a bumpy ride.


	6. Innitiation

_**2154 Hours, September 1, 2547 (Military Calendar)\On Board the **_**Shade of Darkness**_**, Slipspace, Location Unknown, Estimated Range Reach-Yale System**_

Commander Tomás Jimenez glanced around his quarters, his eyes slowly scanning up and down the purple, metallic walls and the various lavender and pale blue lights the lit up his room. Various holographic panels donned the walls and various blue glows etched the surface, fluctuating with the heartbeat of the ship itself. He swore that this ship was alive. It was a smooth ride, no shimmies like in UNSC ships. He had the 'moon roof' open and he could see the stars wiz by as the mighty assault carrier the _Shade of Darkness _traveled through Slipstream Space. He could see the dark, sleek shape of the destroyer the _Holy Justice _hover close to the edge of the carrier, cutting its way through the stars like a sharp knife. Various squadrons of Seraphs flew in formation around the destroyer as well as the carrier that Tom was in. It had been only a day and a half since he first came upon the ex-Covenant assault carrier. He had a hard time adjusting to his new surroundings. He was used to serving on vessels that had more light in them, that were--well human in construction, than this alien craft that he now sat in. He was more used to white walls, steal hulls, and the familiar noises that went with serving on a UNSC-built ship, not the soft chimes, frosty glowing ambient lights, the oily-metallic, violet surfaces and blue glowing pillars of this now renegade Covenant space craft. He was more used to working with people his size or slightly shorter, not these strange, alien giants that the humans called Elites. No, Telek said the name of his species was Sangheili.

Tom hefted a sigh as he plopped himself down on the bed. His headboard had a soft, ambient light that glowed lavender across his face. Everything was either lavender, deep violet, or blue on this ship. There were even some shades of rosy pink, but no other colors. It was hard on his eyes to see in such lights. He was used to a different spectrum of lights. Captain Telek 'Herosee explained it that Sangheili--the ship builders and operators, prefer to see on the violet side of the visible spectrum and can even see into ultraviolet frequencies. Since he and the other humans who served on this ship were more like guests than actual crewmembers, there was not much that Tom could do to complain about the lighting and how the ship was built to the Ship Master. He would have to suck it up. He brought along with him some of his music files and his player to entertain himself when he was not on duty. He did not know what the crew of this ship did to entertain themselves, nor did he want to find out. He closed his eyes and put his headphones in his ears, playing one of his favorite songs, and oldie from the 20th Century called 'Fortune Son'. He scratched his spiky, black hair and crossed his leg over his knee, swinging it to the beat of the song.

Tom was of native South American, or Latino descent, but his nationality was Martian. His family grew up on Mars, worked on Mars, lived on Mars. He was more used to the lower gravity there than the gravity found on Earth. Though that did not make him any weaker than those who grew up on Earth or any Earth-like planet within the Colonies. The red desert was a welcome sight to him. The coppery sky felt home to him. He missed his home when he decided to enroll in the navy. He wanted to become an officer like his father, a retired Captain himself. His father recently died, though, from a heart attack. They told him it was a blood clot. It was the food he ate, they told him--too much sodium, too much cholesterol. So, he tried to stay away from that. His family had a history of heart problems. Heart problems for both sexes, breast cancer for the women. He had a younger brother who stayed on Mars, wanting to be a hydro farmer, harvesting water in the polar regions. His brother Felipe had a wife and two children while he had none. Tom pulled out a photograph of his brother Felipe and his wife Brook and their two children Aaron and Delfina. Behind them was their mother Anita. Tom had a reason why he joined the UNSCN, he had a reason and he stared at it. His family, the protection of them from horrible forces like the Covenant. That was why he joined the UNSC.

Tom dropped the photograph onto his bed when he heard a chime at his door. He quickly donned on his robe and rushed to the door, opening up with a press of the violet holo-panel beside him. As soon as the door opened, he glanced up to see the captain of the ship, Telek 'Herosee, fully dressed in his golden and black armor standing outside his door.

"Skipper…" Tom began. "Uh…is there something wrong?"

"We've got a problem," Telek rumbled. "Come with me."

"Uh…just let me get dressed," Tom began.

"You're fine as you are, Commander," said the big Elite. "Many times have I walked these corridors in my bathrobe. Gray tie is optional, but I do need your assistance."

"Yes, sir," Tom replied. He followed the huge alien down the glossy violet corridor, passing several other Elites and even some Grunts who walked down the opposite way through the corridor. He noticed them glancing back, sniffing smugly at his attire and he adjusted his robe's belt. He shivered again, noticing that Telek's fast stride had taken him father away from the commander. Tom dashed off to catch up to him. Then, Telek paused and Tom nearly went sliding into the Elite's leg.

"Tell me, Tom," began Telek. "How good are you at being commanding, disciplining the men and the like?"

"Pretty good at it, Skipper," Tom replied.

"Good," Telek said. "That's good to hear. Because I wanna know how tough a pirate you are."

"I'm not a--pirate, sir," said Tom. "I'm a navy officer."

"Not on board my ship, Commander," said Telek, swinging around to meet the man face to face. "If you're to be my first mate while I'm tied to that bio-mechanical monstrosity you call a leader then you must realize that I'm a pirate. And while you're serving my ship that makes you pirate too. The colors you're sailing under though on the surface look UNSC, are not. You're sailing under the Jolly Roger. I make my own rules, and I follow my own guidelines."

"Skipper…" began Commander Jimenez. "I…"

"You are a pirate," said Telek. "You're going to be hijacking a ship like a pirate, stealing cargo like a pirate, and making a profit while you're at it. That's piracy. And why are you doing it? For the safety of your own species, or just yourself, it matters not. You are still a pirate. Now, you'll need to go out there and let them know that you are one and you're second only to the blackest of all pirates that sails these stars."

"What do you mean?" Tom asked.

Telek leaned down and pushed a button on the wall, opening up the sliding door with a chime. Tom glanced into the room his eyes wide when he saw what was in there. It was the galley and there was a circle of crewmen and marines, both species. They were chanting, hooting, hollering, and shouting at something in the center.

"What's going on?" Tom asked.

"Apparently," said Telek. "Old rivalries don't die. The crew are at each other's throats because the Sangheili don't want to work with the humans and the humans don't want to work with the Sangheili."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Simple," Telek replied. "Now, I can go in there and no doubt get everyone to shut the hell up, but I want them to see that you're not someone who will just let me do all the talking. You are gonna tell both species to play nice with each other while they're on this ship. Okay?"

"Sure," Tom sighed. "Only Elites are a lot bigger than me."

"So, puff out your chest or something," Telek shrugged. "Just do it."

"Just, tell them to stop?" asked Tom.

"Stage fright?"

"You might say that."

Telek chuckled and then pushed the human out into the galley. He waited off on the other side of the door as Tom began to push his way through the crowd. Once he made it to the center, there were two crew members, a Sangheili dressed in black armor fighting a human marine private. The private was holding his own against this larger Elite, who was swinging purposefully at him. Though the private looked scuffed up a bit, a black eye here, and a few bruises there. The Elite, on the other hand, did not look like he sustained any wounds. Tom figured that it was because of the alien's incredible toughness coupled with the body shield his armor possessed. This was a one-sided fight. The sides were segregated as well, one side of the crowd was Sangheili and the other side was human. Tom took in his breath and whistled loudly at the two quarrying beings. The roar of the silence blanketed the spectators and the fighters glanced back.

"What the hell is going on here?" Tom shouted. He grabbed the private by the collar and pulled him away from the Elite. "We're supposed to be allies here. We're supposed to be a crew. Now, stow the petty squabble and shape up, or I'll toss you both in the brig."

"Sorry, Commander," said the private. "But this squid-head started it."

"Pathetic, weak, hairless ape!" the Elite bellowed, rearing back to punch the human again.

"Hold it!" Tom bellowed.

"You can't order me around, human," the Elite growled.

"I beg to differ," Tom said. "I'm the first mate here. When the Captain isn't around, I'm in charge."

"You're no first mate to me," the Elite called. "Only Tekn 'Morudee is."

"You want to question my authority," Tom growled back at him. "Take it up with the Captain. Now, who started this?"

"I said he did!" the private called.

The Elite growled again, lunging for both Tom and the private, raising his hand up. It was caught by another gloved hand and the black armored alien glanced back to see Telek standing there.

"You heard Commander Jimenez," the Zealot growled back. "And you will obey his order as if you were obeying mine."

"Excellency," the Sangheili breathed. "Aye, Excellency…"

Telek nodded and glanced down at Tom, waiting for him to speak up.

"What's this all about?" Tom asked.

"He cut in line," said the Marine. "And he pushed me."

"This is for Sangheili only," said the Spec-Ops officer. "Lowly humans don't belong over here at this food dispenser."

"It's our food vender machine," said the Marine. "We should use it if we want!"

"This spot was the only place with enough room to fit the vending machine," said Tom. "I'm sorry, but the Private is right. He has a right to be over here just as much as you. Now, if you both don't learn how to behave yourselves, I'll throw both of you into the brig and let you think about what you've done." He glanced back at the others. "And that goes for all of you. I'll be watching you all for now on."

"Yes, sir," the Private sighed.

"Yes--Excellency," the black-armored Elite growled, spitting the word 'Excellency' out in disgust. He did not like the idea of calling a human 'Excellency'.

"Alright," Tom said. "Get back to your eating. You'll need the strength." He sighed again and glanced back at Telek just as the crowd broke up. "You still had to step in. They didn't want to listen to me."

"Maybe I tossed you out there a little too soon," Telek sighed.

"Your people don't like us," said Tom.

"Well, what do you expect?" Telek asked. "The humans feel the same way about mine."

"Guess it'll take a while," said Tom.

"No, what you'll need to do to gain the respect of my Sangheili warriors is to prove yourself in battle," said Telek. "And I know just the thing."

"What?" Tom asked as Telek placed his hand on his shoulder.

"How does a little swordplay sparring sound?" Telek asked.

"What?" Tom asked.

"Swordplay," the Zealot replied. "You, me, spar with swords."

"Uh…" Tom swallowed. "I don't know how to use one."

"I can teach you," he said.

Telek, still with his hand on Tom's shoulder, pulled the young Commander down towards the sparring deck, passing through various gravity-lift elevators and down long, purple corridors. Another set of doors opened up and Tom found himself in the sparring room. Behind him a line of Sangheili soldiers gathered to watch this session between their leader and his new 'second in command.' Tom swallowed, feeling a lump of anxiety crawl up his throat. This was not something he wanted to do, he did not want to go sword to sword with someone who could just literally take his head off right there. He wanted to run, he wanted to hide, he wanted to just lock the door in his quarters and not come out until the next day when his shift started. He was vulnerable, he was still in his bedclothes, he was not ready for this. This was something he had no desires to do. But he could not escape from Telek, who just gave him a hearty push into the room and out onto the floor. Tom literally shook from head to toe, not sure what was about to become of him. He recalled someone telling him once during the academy that in space, no one could hear him scream. This had to be some ploy that Telek was using in order to frighten him off his ship so he could get back to whatever he was doing prior to Tom's station there. Tom felt sweat pour down his face as Telek tossed him a strange looking, oddly shaped rod.

"What's this?" Tom asked.

"It's the sword," Telek replied coolly. "Red button activates it."

And with that, he activated his. Tom's eyes just widened and his jaw became unhinged when he saw Telek raise this long, blue glowing sword up and positioned himself into a fighting stance.

"Mama…" Tom squeaked and activated his. His armed jerked slightly when he felt the plasma sword spring forth from the emitter. Telek slowly approached him, readying his sword up for the attack. Tom began to back slowly away, holding his sword out with a straight, locked arm, his wrist shaking slightly. "Look, uh, I'm not prepared for this. I'm still in my PJs. I'm not ready!"

"En garde!" Telek laughed as he lunged for the human. Tom screamed and raised the sword up and managed to block the attack. Tom glanced up, shaking again at the attacking Elite. Telek chuckled. "Ah, what do you say?"

"Uh…touché?" Tom asked, still shaking at the sight of fighting with his commanding officer.

"Bien," Telek commented. "Now, come on, let's see the _coup de grâce_."

The big Sangheili leaned back and swung down, ready to slice a death blow across Tom's body. The Commander screamed again and huddled up into a ball, his sword still out to protect him from Telek's deadly strike. The two swords clanged and Tom glanced back up, hearing Telek chuckle again. He heard the other Elites as well, they were laughing too. Tom was not sure, but he thought in his mind that they were laughing at him. This was not going too well for him.

"Come on, Tom, levez-vous!" Telek called. "On your feet."

"Come on," Tom sighed. "I'm Mexican. I speak Spanish."

"Sorry," Telek said. "¡Levántese!"

"How the hell do you know Spanish and French?" Tom asked.

"Well, I watch 500-year old French TV once," Telek replied. "And Bobi up there knows German. In fact, that's all he knows besides Sangheili."

He pointed up to a Field Master Zealot who waved and then replied: "Ja spreche ich Deutsches. Sehnt sich Phasendeutschland!"

"He sounds like Hitler," Tom gasped.

"Well, what do you expect?" Telek asked. "Most of the broadcasts we've seen are from the late 20th Century. So, of course he's seen Hitler's speeches. As sad as it may be, that's how he learned it."

"Hitler was a horrible man," Tom shook his head.

"I know," Telek shrugged. "But, it's what we had."

"Warum nicht kämpfen?" Bobi asked.

"He speaks English and Spanish, Bobi!" Telek cried.

"Ich bin traurig," Bobi shrugged.

"I think there's a few German speakers among the marines," said Tom.

"Good," said Telek. "Because I can't understand a word he says when he talks like that. Now, where were we?"

Once more, he swung at the Commander. Tom made an attempt to block it, but he moved too slow and the sword managed to nick him right in the waist near his kidney. Tom screamed and held his side backing away from Telek.

"You cut me!" he called. "How could…I can't believe you cut me! You could have killed me!"

"Kid if I'd wanted to kill you, I would have," said Telek. "I think that's enough. Go to the infirmary and meet up with Erin 'Venamee. He'll patch you up."

0

Tom sighed as he sat down on the bed. Erin got out the gauss and linen wraps to mend Tom's would with. The chief surgeon was dressed in his white and olive armor, signifying that he was both an Ultra and a doctor in the Covenant navy. On his armor was a black Jolly Roger, the same that was painted on Telek's armor. The Jolly Roger was a human skull and two swords crossed, the flag flown by Calico Jack. Tom just felt humiliated as the Sangheili patched him up.

"Hey," said Erin. "Don't feel bad. You should have seen what he did to me last week. Left me a scar right here."

Erin pointed his bicep and laughed.

"What do you mean?" Tom asked. "You mean he does this to everyone?"

"He finds sparring partners to try to hone his skills," said Erin. "But none of us here are as good as him. So, we get a little scraped for volunteering. It'll be the last time I agree to that! Trust me, if he wanted to kill you, he would."

It was after he left the infirmary that he noticed a change of attitude the other Sangheili had towards him. A black armored Elite passed him and gave a good pat to his shoulder while another Ultra took hold of him and told him the time that Telek had him volunteer for sparring and he nearly got his leg chopped off. Two more Zealots passed him and told him similar stories. Then, he began to figure out why Telek did that. It was some sort of initiation test. Apparently he passed. Tom noticed just how the Elites were treating him, each one greeting him with a little more respect than before. The black armored Elite who was fighting with that marine even apologized for his manners towards Tom and offered to share a drink with him when he was off duty. Tom grinned again and made his way back towards his room for some quiet time and sleep. Just as soon as he got to the bed, Telek came back in.

"Tom," he began. "Hope you're not planning on going back to bed now."

"Actually, I was, Skipper," Tom sighed. "What?"

"We're on full alert," Telek said. "We're just about to break slip-space."

"We're here?" Tom asked. "Already?"

"Yup," Telek replied. "Get dressed. Let's get to the bridge."

"Wonderful," Tom sighed. "Uh, Captain?"

"Hmm?" Telek asked.

"Thanks," Tom said, smiling.

"For what?"

"For--making me a part of the crew," Tom grinned. "That's why you did it, right?"

"Yep," Telek chuckled, leaning over and giving Tom's head a good rub. "Welcome to the crew, Commander Jimenez."

"I won't let you down, sir," Tom saluted.


	7. Countdown

**Countdown**

_**2204 Hours, September 1, 2547 (Military Calendar)\On Board the **_**Iroquois**

Commander Jacob Keyes hid behind a corner, trying to keep himself low as the Covenant began to make their way through the corridors of the _Iroquois_. He hand his men were trying to escape through the pods before the countdown ended and the ship blows up. As per Cole Protocols, he was to wipe the ship's databanks, pull the ship's AI, and then blow up the ship if the Covenant boarded. He hand about 30 minutes left before the ship would blow taking the enemy with it. That is at least he hoped. The last transmission received from the UNSC have dispatched five ships to rescue him. Unfortunately, the one Covenant ship that was in the area soon turned into two more and they were sending out their pods to take the ship and kill all that was on it.

Jacob clutched his modified Magnum, a specialized pistol handed down from his father, and his father before him. His right arm was badly shot by a plasma rifle. Beside him was his chief medical officer, who was doing his best to clean the wound and to stop infection before he bandaged it up. Various Marines and crewmen were hiding with him, some shaking in their boots at the terrifying Covenant warriors passing them. Various Elites followed by Grunts and Jackals scouted around for the humans. Jacob saw one Elite dressed in white and black armor carrying a plasma sword in his hand. The blue glow of the blade flashed slightly, which caused a trembling Marine to crouch further down into a tiny ball. He held tightly to his assault rifle and Jacob could hear the sound of its metal rattling softly under the Marine's chest. Jacob noticed that the Marine was a private and was indeed inexperienced compared to some of the other seasoned Marines and crewmen with him.

"Quiet, Boscov," hissed his superior, a corporal. Apparently she was very calm, meaning she was more experienced than he was.

"Yes, Ma'am," the private swallowed his fear down his throat along with the bile that trickled up from his stomach.

Jacob collected himself and his thoughts, trying to put together on how he was going to save the men around him before the clock ran out. He poked his head around the corner when he heard the strange alien language grunted out from the horrid creatures' mouths. The white armored Elite barking out orders to the other aliens and they dispersed, forming into a lined barricade. Something was coming up from behind.

"Sir," began his second in command. "I think something's spooked them."

Jacob glanced up as his ears adjusted and the sounds of explosions came closer and clearer to him. He heard the deep voices of the lower-ranked Elites screaming and roaring and the sounds of their pistols and rifles spraying against something that was coming closer to them. Then, his ears picked up the sounds of English spoken through human voices and also through slightly more alien voices as well. Though the voices that spoke it spoke it just as perfectly and as clearly as the humans that accompanied them. He glanced up when he heard the sounds of heated slicing of air and a sparking clash coming from around the corner. He noticed the sword Elite with the white armor swinging his sword frantically against an unknown, unseen force. Periodically he saw the for that the Elite was fighting against. The form appeared to be a ghostly figure of another Elite. Strikes of blue and flashes of white revealed the form but then it shortly disappeared again. He could see the fluctuation of the white Elite's own energy shield, but also he could see the same fluctuation from the shield of his opponent. Another slice came down and the white-armored Elite pealed away like melon cut in half.

"I told him to get out of my way," began a deep voice just as the victorious Elite faded in from invisibility. That Elite spoke English! Jacob's eyes lit up when he noticed the Elite's armor. It was gold with black accents. This Elite was a Zealot and practically the largest Elite Jacob had ever seen. He glanced over for another shock, seeing a Marine run up to the Elite and salute.

"Captain," began the Marine. "So far, the corridor is secure."

"Have you been able to locate Commander Keyes?" the Zealot asked.

"No, sir," the Marine replied. "This ship is crawling with Covenant."

"Damned Prophet-kissing bastards," the Zealot growled. "I want to see purple and orange and blue luminescent blood splattered everywhere on the walls. Clean this ship of those filthy, religious retards. They want to die for their false gods, we'll help them along. Continue on, Sergeant."

"Yes, sir!" the Marine saluted.

"Sir…" whispered Jacob's second. "That Elite…"

"Knew my name, I know," Jacob said. "Something funny is going on here."

He noticed the big Elite turning around, revealing a familiar symbol painted in white. It was Calico Jack's Jolly Roger--a symbol of piracy--a skull above two crossing swords. He moved a bit up just to get a better look at the symbol on the Elite's back and the Elite heard him rise up. He turned around with a smirk on his unarmored mandibles.

"Ah, there you are, Commander," he said. "I've been looking all over for you. Now I can get the fucking hell off this pathetic, gas guzzling rust bucket that barely even breaks light speed, break out my aged cider and celebrate. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm supposed to take you with me. Tekn, make sure we have enough sherry for Commander Keyes."

"Yes, Excellency," called the voice called Tekn through the comlink.

The Marines and crewman pulled out their pistols and pointed them directly at the strange Elite. As the Elite slowly turned around, pulling something out of his armor.

"Drop it!" called one of the Marines. "Drop whatever the fuck you have in your hands, squid-lips!"

The Elite turned around and what he had in his hand was not a weapon. It was a tin bottle. The Elite unscrewed the cap and took a swig of it. He winced from the sting and swallowed, letting out a relieve breath.

"Ah, that hit the spot," he said. "You guys want some too? It's vodka."

"Who the hell are you?" Jacob demanded.

"Oh, Captain Telek 'Herosee," he replied, pulling out a set of dog tags from his green collar. He bent down and dangled them in front of Jacob Keyes to read. He was once more stunned.

"Telek," he said. "The Covenant turncoat pirate. I thought you were nothing more than a rumor."

"Last I checked I wasn't," said Telek.

"Then, those ships that came after the ship we found started boarding were your ships, weren't they?" Jacob asked.

"Yup," Telek nodded. "Just didn't make sense for me to leave my ship cloaked with pods coming out of it. I maybe drunk most of the time, but I'm not stupid."

"I heard about that too," Jacob said. "Okay, I'm really glad to see you, but we need to get off this ship. It'll explode in about 25 minutes."

"Shit…" Telek sighed. "I was hoping to save the ship too. Can I take you back to the bridge to stop the explosion?"

"No," said Jacob. "It can't be stopped."

"Alright," Telek sighed. "I need to get you off this ship and back my ship away enough to keep it from being damaged from the explosion."

He took another drink from his tin and shook his head. Telek leaned down at his comlink and began to contact his various officers directing them to start evacuating every personnel they could find off the _Iroquois_ and back to his ships.

"Tekn, as soon as we taken all of Commander Keyes' men off his ship, we need to get out of here as soon as we can," Telek ordered.

"Yes, Excellency," Tekn replied.

"Have you taken on any stowaways?"

"Not yet," he replied. "Though, Shri has done a fine job of hijacking the Covenant ship Keyes' ship was monitoring."

"Where there other ships besides yours that were--Covenant looking?" Jacob asked.

"You mean besides the four I brought and the one you monitored?" asked Telek. "No."

"There's only one ship?" Jacob asked.

"Yup," Telek replied. "And don't think I didn't notice you scratching the paint on my ship. You're paying for the insurance claim, that's for sure. Now, come on, we need to move our asses outta here. I can have you speak to Geico later."

Telek whistled for three black-armored Elites to come running up to him as well as a few Marines following them. Jacob just did not know what to think when he saw this big Elite ordering around a mixed batch of ex-Covenant soldiers and UNSC Marines. Not only that, this Telek was a heavy drinker. For now, he was not so sure about putting his life in the hands of this drunken pirate captain, especially after Telek just told him to pay for the insurance claim on his ship. Jacob did not know what exactly it was running through this Elite's mind and right now, he wasn't if he wanted to know. For now, it was just best to follow this Elite and his men out of here to safety.

"I hope you have a competent doctor on board your ship, Captain," began Jacob's medical officer. "Our commander has been injured."

"We do," said Telek as he lead them down a corridor. "My chief medical officer Doc Erin and his mixed batch of humans and Elite medical personnel. He knows enough to patch you up, Commander. You'll be in good hands."

"I supposed you've been learning a lot about us," said Jacob.

"I had to," said Telek. "I had to learn about you in order to deal with you without getting my ass blown up by a rocket launcher. That was a priority of mine."

"I see," said Jacob.

"Excellency," began another voice on the comlink. "Our enemies are trying to make it back on board their ship."

"They'll be in for a surprise when they get there," said Telek.

"Yes," the voice called. "But it seems they have found out that this ship is about to self-destruct. They're attempting to even steal our pods as well to make it back to their destroyer."

"Wonderful," Telek sighed. "Shri?"

"Yes, Excellency?" Shri asked. Jacob was a bit shocked to hear a female voice on the other line. This was the first time he had ever heard what a female Elite sounded like.

"How secure did you make the new addition to our little fleet?" Telek asked.

"The Ship Master is dead, Telek," she replied. "As well as any other helmsman and executive command team. I'm attempting to flush out the rest."

"That might not be a good idea," said Telek. "We should just leave the ship, disable their slip-space drive and their impulse thrusters. Pull it next to the _Iroquois_ and watch it take out the Covenant ship too."

"Excellency?" she asked. "But…I thought…"

"Sorry," Telek sighed. "We'll have to hijack a ship another time. Just get out of there as soon as you disable it. We've got about 15 minutes before this thing blows up, taking us on the 'Real' Great Journey."

_Real Great Journey? _Jacob asked, unfamiliar with the vernacular Telek was using. There was some sort of hidden meaning this Elite was using when he spoke those words.

"Yes, Excellency," Shri sighed. "I understand. We'll start to disable this ship."

"Good," Telek smiled. "Make me proud, Commander."

"Don't I always?" Shri asked.

"That-a-girl," Telek chuckled as the comlink clicked off. "Good to have skilled warriors on hand."

"I've got one thing to ask," began Jacob.

"Shoot…" Telek said. "Er…not me…"

"You're a Zealot, right?"

"Well--technically yeah," he replied. "The gold armor says it. I was a Fleet Master--er--the equivalent to a Rear Admiral in your navy. Yeah, I'm a Zealot."

"I've never known a Zealot that could cloak," said Jacob. "I've heard they view that as dishonorable and--cheep, even cowardly."

"Eh, those are the flamboyant, firebrand Field Masters," Telek chuckled. "Before I made Zealot, I was a Spec Ops Commander--a Navy SEAL so to speak."

"I kinda figured that," Jacob smiled. "A lot of what you do, from what I've read in the reports, is very SEAL-like. I'm a bit of a SEAL myself. Good to know we're in good hands. I suppose that Shri you spoke to is also a SEAL."

"Yup," Telek replied. "Spec Ops Commander Shri 'Canthonee, a SEAL herself."

"One thing though, typically a captain stays on his ship," said Jacob. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"I like to be in the action," said Telek. "Can't take the SEAL outta me. Besides, I feel more comfortable if I was there actually directing everything instead of sitting comfortably on my bridge. I have well-trained officers who know how to operate my ship if there is trouble."

"I have other questions too," said Jacob. "But I'll ask when we're out of harms way."

"Good idea," Telek chuckled as he drank another shot of his tin of vodka. So far, it was uneventful. Telek and his teams managed to clear out most of the enemies on their way over to where Commander Keyes was. He noticed this from the splotches of luminescent blood from the Grunts and Jackals decorating the walls. "Sorry about the mess, Commander."

"I'd say it's a fine color, Captain," Jacob chuckled. "Just how I like my Grunts and Jackals, as wallpaper."

"Hah!" Telek chuckled back. "Oh!"

He stopped for a moment, his computerized motion detector began to pick up some unfriendly movement just beyond the next corner down the hall. He leaned back towards the other troops and hissed to them to be quiet.

"There's five enemies over there," he whispered. Telek glanced down at his plasma rifle and noticed that the battery was completely depleted. "Crap. All I have is my sword, and I don't feel like going in for close range fighting."

"Here," Commander Keyes began. "Take this."

He handed over his modified Magnum to Telek.

"I my shooting arm is damaged," Jacob informed. "I think you might benefit from this gun than I right now."

"This is a strange weapon," said Telek. "Magnum?"

"Specially modified," said Jacob. "Handed down through my family from an unknown source. The gun is rather large for humans and it looks like it's made for someone with really big hands. It fits you. And it can snipe."

"I'll take good care of it," smiled Telek. He picked up the Magnum and closed one eye, aiming along the sight until his field of view zoomed in and found the top of a Grunt's methane gas tank. He signaled for the men to keep low just as he aimed for that one spot. He heard some movement, though not much. His keen ears picked up the sounds of the Elites getting their orders. Then, he took his breath and pulled gently on the trigger of the Magnum. The kick was powerful and it surprised Telek, but the shot was true. Explosions of green and yellow filled the area and Telek singled for the charge. All at once he and the Marines tossed a barrage of grenades at the forces and watches as bodies flew through the air guided by blue and orange fire. Telek glanced around and grinned as he saw nothing more of the enemy that stood in is way than bodies strewn out around boxes and blood splattered on the walls and floor.

"It's this way," said Jacob. "We can get to the pods here."

"We are running out of time, Commander," informed his second.

"Shri," began Telek. "How goes the sabotaging?"

"I've got Ysoa with me," said Shri. "He knows a lot about engines. He's thrown a good size monkey wrench into the gears. This tub can't move an inch. The problem is, they are returning to their ship now. We don't have the manpower to fight them."

"Get out of there," said Telek. "Let the explosion do the rest."

"We have set a charge of our own," said Shri. "If one ship doesn't do it, then, both will. The Covenant ship will be destroyed. Don't worry, Telek. Just get your drunken ass back on the _Shade of Darkness_."

"No problem," Telek chuckled. "Over and out."

He felt a sting and his high-powered shields fluctuated purple for a moment, then they fluctuated green. He glanced up and saw sniping Jackals and Drones sticking themselves on the ceilings of the ship. He heard his Sangheili and the Marines and crewmen begin shooting, picking them off and he joined them, firing the Magnum. Then, he heard the war cries of his own people charging for him and his blue eyes locked upon their movements. Holstering the Magnum at his side and tying it securely to where his plasma rifle was, ignited his sword emitter. Another sting pierced him and his shields started to go down. He gritted his fangs and bare down, leaping forward just as the other Sangheili ducked down, emptying their rounds upon him. His shields were depleted and his violet blood splattered from his exposed, unarmored areas, but he was determined to cut them down. He swung his sword and cut down three Elites at once as soon as he landed. A red armored Elite swung in with a low, sweeping roundhouse kick, but Telek leapt backwards and butterfly kicked him in the head, taking the Magnum in his left hand and shooting the other advancing Elite as Telek landed again. The Elite he kicked was sent flying back, colliding with a Jackal. Telek swung again, cutting down another Elite.

"He's like a one man army…" breathed one of the Marines.

"He's like a SPARTAN," Jacob chuckled. The doctor kept up with him and he had a group of Marines around him to protect him against any fire coming his way. The other Marines along with Telek's own Elites were clearing their way out. Though, the enemy was thinning a bit, most had left to get back to their own ship.

"There!" called Jacob. "Captain, there's an empty pod we can use to get to your ship."

"We've got less than 8 minutes left, sir," informed his second.

"Time measured in minutes," Telek sighed as he took another swallow. "What a day…"

"Doesn't that drinking dull your senses, Captain?" the chief medical officer asked.

"It does a little," Telek replied. "If I was as sharp as a plasma sword it would be an unfair advantage--for _them_…"

He moved his tall, broad body out of the way as the humans and two of his Elites piled into the pod. The other group went into the adjacent pod. Telek glanced around, making sure no one else was following him as he sank back into the pod.

"Brom," began Telek, glancing back at the two black-armored Elites. "Josh, buckled in?"

_Josh…_Jacob thought. _That's an Elite name?_

"Yes, Excellency," replied Brom.

"These seats are tight, Excellency," Josh groaned. "Why do humans have to be so diminutive in size?"

Telek glanced around as he heard a few disapproving grunts from the human party, though his own Marines kept silent, becoming more and more accustomed to some of the younger Elites' naivety towards their species. The big Zealot crossed his arms, spreading his legs out a bit until they bumped the other side of the pod.

"Stow the belly aching, Josh," he growled at the younger Spec Ops warrior. "These pods weren't designed with us in mind."

"I know that, Excellency," Josh replied, lowering his head. Once more Jacob just could not help but to be amazed on how much like humans Elites actually sounded--especially when they spoke a language he could understand. Telek glanced back at him and smirked slightly.

"I'm sorry, Commander," he began. "Josh is young. Most of my--Sangheili have not really dealt with humans. My ship, and the other three like it are mostly scouting and spying ships. We hide out and report back what we find with minimum interaction between infantry. More ship to ship combat if any at all."

"I see," said Jacob. "You're ship can cloak, so I've heard."

"Yup," the Zealot nodded. "That she can. She's a pretty assault carrier. Usually such a fine ship like her wouldn't be commanded by someone like me--but she was the first to receive the cloaking technology for ships and because I'm really good at my job, I was picked to command her."

"Sounded like a great honor," Jacob said.

"Well, it was," Telek sighed. "Until I found out what I was really fighting for--what I was protecting. If you must know, personally--even before I became a traitor, I never really liked the idea of this war."

"What part didn't you like?"

"Killing of a species that never really wronged us in the first place," replied Telek.

"I see," Jacob nodded. "You know, despite your--drinking habits, I'm starting to like you, Captain 'Herosee."

"Call me Telek," he smiled.

"Call me Jacob," Jacob nodded, handing his hand out. Telek took it and shook it with a strong jerk. As soon as he felt the pod level off, he unbuckled himself and moved over towards the pilot who was flying. From the front window he saw his massive ship keeping her shields up. He glanced over to the Covenant ship and all seemed quiet. He could not help but to chuckle at what possible damage Shri had done to it. She probably disabled everything, shields, weapons, and the engines as well. Glancing down, he pressed a glowing button on his armor and activated his comlink.

"_Shade of Darkness, _this is Telek 'Herosee," he began. "Lower your shields."

"Aye, sir," replied the familiar voice of Tomas Jimenez. "Tekn, lower the shields."

"Yes, Excellency," said Tekn.

The shields fluctuated in blue before turning completely off as the starboard bay doors opened up under the ship.

"Just ease it in, Lieutenant," Telek informed. "Those doors are big enough for you to maneuver in."

"Yes, sir," she nodded.

Telek began to sense some unease from Jacob's own men and women as the pod slowly descended into the launch bay, settling itself down under a Spirit drop-ship. It was probably the first time they had ever been inside a Covenant ship--even if the ship they entered was no longer a part of the Covenant fleet. Jacob had some unease about him too, glancing around as the pod doors opened up at the back end to the strange purple and blue lights that filled the liquid metallic, massive chamber they were in. Everyone unbuckled and stepped out. Jacob held onto his injured arm, feeling a wince of pain pierce it for a moment. The chief medical officer glanced down and studied his handiwork of the dressing.

"Captain," he began. "Commander Keyes does need to get to your infirmary."

"No problem," said Telek. "Brom, Josh, show the Commander and his medical officer where the sick bay is on my ship. Erin will take over from that."

"Yes, Excellency," nodded Brom.

"Oh, Jacob," Telek turned around, taking the Magnum from the holster. "I believe this is yours."

"Keep it," said Jacob. "I could never really use that thing properly. I only kept it because--well, it was family tradition."

"Can't break tradition even from one's family," said Telek. "We Sangheili have strict codes on that."

"It's okay, Telek," chuckled Jacob. "You can wield that thing better than I can. Call it--a thank you gift for saving my ass back there."

"You mean it?"

"Sure," he replied. "It's a 500-year old relic. Still works as you can see. But I think it'll bring you more luck than it did me."

"Thank you," Telek bowed slightly, holstering the pistol to his side once more. "It is a beautiful weapon despite using primitive chemically expelled, metallic projectiles. I like the shape and the weight, and the balance, and the feel. Now, go on. The Doc will take care of you. I'll be in--in a moment after I get my ships out of here. Tekn, we don't have much time, tell the other ships to move out of the way, both the _Iroquois _and the Covenant ship are going to explode."

"Yes, Excellency," said Tekn.

"Move our ship too," Telek said.

"I know that too, Telek," Tekn sighed.

"I'm just making sure," Telek chuckled. "Bye, Jacob."

"Boy, am I glad he's on our side," Jacob smiled weakly. "I'd hate to be his enemy."

"The Ship Master has held high regard for your species, Commander," began Brom. "It was that regard that allowed him to make his decision on joining your navy. Come, this infirmary is this way."

0

Tekn heard the sounds of two feet running down the corridor. The door opened and he glanced back, seeing an out of breath Telek gasping for air. He leaned on his knees and swallowed his dry spit down his mouth.

"This--ship is too big…" he gasped. "Sometimes--I hate it--when it's--so damn big. Tekn, we out of the way yet?"

"Yes, Excellency," replied Tekn. "We're at a safe distance."

"Tekn pulled up a zoomed view of the two ships," said Tom. "Seems like the Covenant have made it back to their own ship. We're just waiting for the last minute."

"It is the last minute," said Tekn. "Actually, it's now 15 seconds before detonation."

"Good," Telek leaned up. "I want to see some pretty fireworks, you two. Is Shri and her team back on board?"

"They made it back on board before you did, Skipper," replied Tom. "She's a fast pilot."

"Eh, she's always been faster than me," Telek shrugged. "Skinny little broad like her. Sometimes I think Shri's anorexic."

"She eats well," said Tom. "From what I seen."

"5 seconds tell detonation," said Tekn. "4…3…2…1…"

Telek shielded his eyes as a massive blue-white explosion coming from both ships filled the holographic screens in front of him. As the white light faded, he saw a rolling fireball where both ships once were.

"Happy New Year," he chuckled. "This calls for a drink to celebrate."

Telek again took out his tin of vodka and poured the final drops down his throat. He shook his head once more and belched, satisfied that he starting to feel that happy and whimsical buzz in his head as his own brain cells became numb from the intoxication. He clacked his mandibles in satisfaction. Then, he gazed happily down at his two crewmen, his face taken on a darker hue than before. It was an indication that his face was blushing from the alcohol.

"I'm sorry," he swayed as he looked at the two, his speech slurring slightly. "Did you two want some?"

"No thank you, Skipper," Tom shook his head.

"No, Excellency," said Tekn. "I'm fine."

"Let's get the hell outta here," Telek grunted. "Have our men scan our ships for potential tracking devices before we enter Reach space."

"Yes, Excellency," said Tekn. "We'll start the sweeps."

_**1312 Hours, September 3, 2547 (Military Calendar)\Earth**_

"I hear Telek pulled through again," began Henry Ferguson. "Mr. President."

"Yes," replied Kiryuu Knight as he leaned back in his chair. "He did. I was very impressed with the results. Before he entered the Reach system, he checked all of his ships for Covenant tracking devices. He did not find any."

"Once more, this Telek lives up to your expectations," Henry sighed as he settled himself down on the chair opposite to the President's. Kiryuu stacked his papers and then turned to his computer.

"Oh," he began. "I'm thinking of putting through to High Command and Congress to give Commander Jacob Keyes a raise, and a new ship. I should make him a Captain. We're running out of those. But of what ship?"

"The _Pillar of Autumn _currently doesn't have a full time captain stationed to it," replied Henry.

"Ah," Kiryuu smiled. "Good. Excellent. A new captain for an old ship. We need all we can spare. We're blowing up more ships than we can produce. I just hope they don't find Reach. If they find Reach, that's it. No more ships."

"Mr. President," began Henry. "I have another report. We sent a few scouting ships around the areas where the Covenant had glassed our planets. One was at Harvest again. It seems the planet is gone."

"Of course the planet is gone," said Kiryuu. "It was glassed by the Covenant almost 30 years ago. Weren't you paying attention?"

"No, I mean it's just not there anymore," he replied. "When the Covenant glassed it, they left behind a smoldering, black, cinder. Now--the entire remains of Harvest just disappeared. We have a signature--a gravity well left behind by something massive. The same can be said for the other glassed outer planets."

"Gone?" Kiryuu asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "Gone.

"Has it attacked our fleets?"

"It's disappeared by the time our fleets get there," said Henry.

"Then, let's not worry about it," said Kiryuu. "I'm more worried about the Covenant. They are slowly getting close to our Inner Planets. Reach…I don't want to loose it."

"Yes, sir," Henry nodded. "I suppose you'll be sending your new pawn out on more missions."

"Indeed," Kiryuu nodded, staring hopefully at the image of Telek 'Herosee. "And I wonder if I could reproduce his armor as well. For him, by the way--and for his Elite crew as well. I'm sure they could use new armor, they're old ones are so filled with bullet holes."

"True," agreed Henry. "It would take a while to produce armor of that quality."

"We were able to produce shields without the aid of Technomancy," said Kiryuu. "Why not give Telek new armor? As a gift, of course. It'll be a surprise for him."

"Yes, Mr. President," Henry nodded as he turned away from the cybernetic, mutated dinosaur. He still did not trust Telek, nor his own President's intentions. Though Kiryuu knew Telek was hiding something, it was a matter of time before that something was revealed.

_**2245 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar)**__**UNSC **_**Shade of Darkness \ **_**Undisclosed Location in the Inner Planets**_

"Skipper!" called Tom. "We're receiving a distress signal."

Telek took a swig from his Irish Coffee and clacked his mandibles. He made sure that there was two shots of Whiskey in the drink this time.

"Tell me, where is it coming from?" he asked the commander.

"Reach," replied Tom. "They're calling for all ships. The Covenant have found Reach."

"Oy vey…" Telek sighed, wiping his brow in distress. "This isn't good. Jacob's there. Tekn…"

"Yes, Excellency," Tekn came to attention at his commanding officer's call.

"Set a course to Reach," he ordered. Telek's hands glided over the holographic console. "Cujo, Mitsu, Tulsa!"

"We're here," called the familiar voice of his old friend Cujo 'Mentatalee.

"Reach has been discovered by those Covenant bastards," the big Sangheili Zealot growled. "And the UNSC is calling for help. Our help. Reach is the last military outpost we've got--and the only shipyard we have. We have to go there and defend it."

"We're with you, Excellency," said Mitsu.

"I've been aiming to kick some Covenant ass today, Excellency," said Tulsa.

"I know you are, Tulsa," smiled Telek. "We all are. Let's shove another sharp pole up Truth's ass. All ships, prepare for slip-space."


End file.
